Russia denounces "theft of property", using USD as a weapon, says "reluctant" to use retaliation

In an interview with Sputnik, Russian Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov commented that the West's use of frozen Russian sovereign assets to finance Ukraine amounts to theft and Moscow has the tools to respond.

At the 2024 IMF and WB Annual Meeting, the Russian representative denounced 'asset theft', using the USD as a weapon, and said that it was 'a last resort' to retaliate. (Source: ifc.org)

“We are convinced that this is really a theft of our assets, but … for our part, we have domestic tools and internal decisions that allow us to take countermeasures. I cannot say that we like it, it is just a last resort,” Chebeskov said on the sidelines of the 2024 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) in Washington.

Speaking on the sidelines of this annual conference on October 25, Mr. Ivan Chebeskov frankly stated that the US is using the USD as a weapon, which has forced many countries to seek alternative solutions.

"The US dollar is now dominant as a currency for transactions and as a reserve currency for savings. They (the US) took advantage of this and started using the dollar, essentially, as a weapon. They seized it, froze its reserves, banned transactions and imposed sanctions on banks," Mr. Chebeskov commented.

Russia's Deputy Finance Minister warned that this policy will have long-term consequences.

The Russian official also said it was “impossible to use a baton to force people” to use its currency and financial system and immediately strike back at those who refused to do so.

According to Deputy Minister Ivan Chebeskov, many countries are thinking about finding alternatives to the US dollar. And when such solutions appear, they will actively use them “because no one knows when the baton will hit them hard on the head."

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/nga-to-hanh-vi-trom-cap-tai-san-dung-dong-usd-lam-vu-khi-noi-cuc-chang-da-phai-dung-don-tra-dua-291423.html