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2022.08.15 15:54 GMT+8

Russia warns U.S. about the outcomes of seizing Russian assets

Updated 2022.08.15 15:54 GMT+8
CGTN

Alexander Darchiev, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's North America department, on Saturday said any U.S. attempt to seize Russian assets would completely damage the bilateral relations between the two countries.

Noting that since 2016, six real estate properties, including the Russian Commercial Representative Office in Washington and Russian Consulate General in San Francisco, have been seized or closed, Darchiev told TASS that Russian diplomatists had no access to those buildings.

"We warned the U.S. that behaviors like this would bring severe consequences and damage bilateral relations, which meets neither side's interests," said Darchiev.

He said the diplomatic relations between the two countries would suffer seriously if the U.S. listed Russia as a" pro-terrorism country," adding that the U.S. would then become directly involved in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

According to the Central Bank of Russia, Western countries have frozen nearly $300 billion in foreign exchange reserves due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The U.S. government has also frozen various assets from Russian oligarchs, including yachts, helicopters, real estate and artworks. 

Earlier this August, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed Ukraine had confiscated about $76.5 million worth of Russian assets.

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