Kremlin threatens to retaliate if assets of Russian oligarchs in UK are seized
Statements by the British authorities about plans to confiscate the London real estate of pro-Kremlin oligarchs cause concern and will not go unanswered, warned Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
According to him, threats made by the British Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, are a direct attack on business and demonstrate the "considerable unpredictability of London", which worries not only the Kremlin, but the entire European community.
"These are very disturbing statements. The Anglo-Saxons, of course, are escalating tensions on the European continent. Here, we Europeans have something to think about. When, for example, a country outside our continent escalates tensions at home, this is not right, and until we, Europeans, understand that this harms us all, I think the situation is unlikely to be corrected, " Interfax quoted Peskov as saying.
The Putin’s spokesperson also noted that the Kremlin does not look at the measures announced by Truss as sanctions. "We need to call a spade a spade: sanctions are something legitimate, formalized by the decision of the UN Security Council, and in this case, we are talking about an undisguised attack on business," Peskov said.
Russia's response will be "formulated solely on the basis of our needs, if necessary," he added.
Truss said on Sunday that the British authorities can seize the property of the richest Russians who have taken root in the United Kingdom.
To this end, she said, an expansion of the sanction’s legislation is being prepared, which will allow to take measures against any person associated with the Kremlin, even those who are not directly involved in the aggression against Ukraine.