The Russian Ambassador to Canada threatened retaliatory measures in case of confiscation of assets of the Russian Federation

Russia will take retaliatory measures in case of confiscation of frozen Russian assets, Russian Ambassador to Canada Oleg Stepanov told Izvestia on July 23.

"Anyway, even if we talk only about the aforementioned figure ($316 million of frozen Russian funds. — Ed.), despite her modesty, by global standards, we are talking about banal theft, violation of the very principles of the free market and international trade, which the West loves to declare its commitment to. In any case, Canadian "piracy" will not go unpunished," he said.

The ambassador also noted that Ottawa "will have to pay for its Russophobic policy" and "no one will escape responsibility."

Block signal: EU's position on Russian assets hinders settlement in Ukraine

What could prompt the Europeans to lift sanctions and unfreeze Russian funds?

In June, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the allocation of a loan of $1.7 billion from frozen assets of the Russian Federation to Ukraine. At the same time, he said that Ottawa would provide the Ukrainian side with a new package of military assistance worth $ 1.5 billion. Later, Kiev confirmed the receipt of a tranche of $1.7 billion from Canada.

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