Lavrov: Russia Will Recover Frozen EU Assets

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov declared on September 15 that Russia will recover its foreign exchange reserves frozen at the Euroclear depository in Brussels, expressing full confidence in the outcome.

"The European Commission still wants to confiscate these assets, and then return them to us only after we pay certain reparations to Ukraine. We will achieve the return of our foreign exchange reserves -- I have absolutely no doubt about it," Lavrov said, according to Interfax.

Lavrov accused Western nations of "legal aggression" -- the expansive reinterpretation of international law norms to suit Western interests. He cited the freeze on Russia's Central Bank assets at Euroclear as the primary example.

Belgian Blockage and EU Workaround

Lavrov also criticized EU discussions about moving the frozen funds out of Belgian jurisdiction into a joint EU account. The Belgian Prime Minister has categorically refused to participate in any confiscation. He called this "an absolutely brazen criminal attempt to divide responsibility and organize collective complicity."

The assets -- estimated at around 300 billion euros -- have become a central issue in EU-Russia relations. The EU has been exploring ways to channel income from the frozen reserves to fund Ukraine's reconstruction.