Medvedev’s comments
The Deputy Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, former president Dmitry Medvedev, said that Russia “will have to seize” the property of foreign companies in hostile countries if those countries decide to seize Russian assets. He wrote this on his Telegram channel.
“If, based on a resolution of the UN General Assembly, national laws on theft of Russian assets are passed, if it is absorbed from a place known to hostile countries, we will have no choice. “Although their government is not responsible for the idiots, private investors will have to irrevocably withdraw their money and property from such countries,” Medvedev said.
According to him, foreign money and “other valuables” in Russia “by a happy coincidence, only more than $ 300 billion” – “enough to make up for what was stolen.”
In March, the Russian Ministry of Finance announced the freezing of $300 billion in Russian gold and foreign exchange reserves held abroad due to US and EU sanctions.
Medvedev also said the UN resolution is “illegal, just turn off the light – and the light will be… put out the next day”.
On November 15, as a result of the attacks by the Russian Armed Forces on Ukrainian infrastructure facilities, the energy of Kyiv and other major cities of Ukraine was partially or completely cut off.
General Assembly Decision
On Monday, November 14, the participants of the special session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution on the compilation of an international register of damage done by the Russian Federation to Ukraine.
According to TASS, the document states that “a mechanism for compensation for losses should be established”.
94 countries voted in favor of the resolution, 14 countries voted against, and 73 countries abstained.
The General Assembly recommends that member states, in cooperation with Ukraine, establish an international damage register that will serve as a source of information for all interested natural and legal persons on claims, losses or related claims and their grounds. says document.
Medvedev soon wrote on his Telegram channel that three conclusions could be reached after a non-binding decision on compensation was adopted.
First, the US and UK want to find the slightest legal reason to confiscate Russian assets. “The Anglo-Saxons are clearly trying to establish a legal basis for the theft of illegally seized Russian assets,” Medvedev said.
The second result, he said, is a call for Western countries to accept a similar recommendation that the US pay compensation to all countries affected by its attacks.
“Let the United States accept the same recommendation on the full reparation for the damage done to Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Yugoslavia, and many other victims of the Americans and NATO,” said the deputy chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.
The third consequence, according to Medvedev, is that the absence of the same resolution of an anti-American character appears to be “the beginning of the suffering of the UN as the main international reconciliation institution”.
“The end will be painful for the entire international community. The ex-president of the Russian Federation added that we will live without such a “united nations” organization.
Federation Council and the position of the permanent representative
Konstantin Kosachev, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council, said on his Telegram channel that there are various arguments as to why the UN General Assembly resolution on compensation for the damage done to Ukraine violates international law. According to him, GA “gone beyond its statutory powers.”
He recalled that issues of international peace and security, as presented by their initiators, are within the exclusive competence of the Security Council and that the General Assembly can only draw the attention of the UN Security Council to situations that may threaten international peace and security. .
He also added that the issue of compensation for damage is property, legal in nature, and is always associated with a dispute between two parties, so this must be decided by the International Court of Justice.
“Why was the UN General Assembly resolution adopted? Answer: because only in this UN body the collective West, though manipulated, has the majority and Russia has no veto,” Kosachev added.
He also added that the UN General Assembly resolution lays the groundwork for future seizures of Russian assets abroad, which violate the immunities of Russian property abroad granted under international law and national legislation.
“Therefore, the decision taken yesterday is legally invalid. As far as practical application prospects are concerned, these too will be insignificant. But unfortunately, the unipolar world continues to squirm,” wrote Kosachev.
Vasily Nebenzya, the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN, stated at a special session of the UN General Assembly that the resolution was “legally invalid”.
“The disadvantage of this initiative is obvious. From a legal point of view, the provisions of the draft do not stand up to criticism, it is an attempt to legalize what is legally invalid and void and illegal in terms of current international law,” he said.
According to the diplomat, this is “a classic example of the concept of rules-based order, in which a group of states does not act according to international law, but seeks to sanctify lawlessness by using the authority of the General Assembly.” He also pointed out that the UN General Assembly was allegedly in the position of a court in this case, but that it was “not”.
Source: Gazeta
Emma Matthew is a political analyst for “Social Bites”. With a keen understanding of the inner workings of government and a passion for politics, she provides insightful and informative coverage of the latest political developments.