GENEVA, December 20. /TASS/. The government of Switzerland is perfectly aware of risks that the EU’s possible expropriation of immobilized Russian assets under the guise of a ‘reparations loan’ to Ukraine may entail, but agrees to participate in the related risky undertakings of Brussels, Russian Ambassador to Switzerland Sergey Garmonin said.
According to the diplomat, Swiss elites "understand perfectly well that a theft of Russian assets will be illegal and destroy the confederation’s reputation of a 'safe haven' for foreign investors.
"Such step will set a dangerous precedent in the eyes of the Global South countries," he explained. "That is why Swiss officials have repeatedly emphasized that the confiscation of Russian assets frozen here is ruled out, because it will put into question the rule of law."
In his words, the confiscation would be "not even a theft - a robbery, because a theft is done in secret, while a robbery is by definition an open and confrontational criminal act."
"As the latest summit in Brussels has shown, more and more countries and the top management of the European Central Bank realize the dangers <…> not just for the European financial system, but also for the global one," the Russian diplomat continued.
In this regard, Russia is particularly surprised by Bern’s decision "to join such a risky undertaking" by taking part in the Council of Europe-backed anti-Russian entity, namely in a "pseudo-legal mechanism to justify the seizure of Russian assets frozen in the West." According to the European plan, the mechanism will deal with the issue of compensations that Russia allegedly owes to Ukraine.
Garmonin added that all such initiatives are "null and void" and "doomed to fail."
Earlier, an EU summit concluded with no consensus on the expropriation of Russian assets under the guise of a so-called reparations loan to Kiev despite spending 17 hours in discussion. EU leaders ultimately failed to agree on expropriating frozen Russian assets in the form of a "reparations loan" to Ukraine and instead decided to allocate €90 billion to Kiev over the next two years through borrowing, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at a final press conference.