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Germany opposes confiscation of frozen Russian assets for Ukraine — government

Meanwhile, the spokeswoman of the Ministry of Finance underscored that "the asset fund of the Central Bank of Russia remains untouched"

BERLIN, May 22. /TASS/. The German government still opposes confiscation of the blocked Russian assets to aid Ukraine, cabinet spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said.

"Our position remains the same: we are talking about the revenue from the frozen assets. We are not talking about the assets themselves," he said.

Meanwhile, the spokeswoman of the Ministry of Finance underscored that "the asset fund of the Central Bank of Russia remains untouched."

"Thus, we comply with the fundamental international legal principles, such as state immunity. This is the current position, she noted."

The EU, Canada, the US and Japan blocked about $300 billion worth of Russian assets after the beginning of the special military operation. Of those, about $5-6 billion are in the United States. Previously, the US Congress passed a package of bills on military aid for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, on confiscation of frozen Russian assets for their de facto handover to Kiev, and on imposition of additional sanctions against China.

According to the EU statement, central banks of the member states will have to start transferring revenue from the frozen Russian assets. Withdrawals will take place twice a year and will be forwarded for military support to Ukraine. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that she hopes to transfer up to 1 billion euros of such funds by July.

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