Belgium was warned by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) about consequences if Russian property seized under EU sanctions is seized, local media reported, citing information from the Russian TASS agency, BTA reported.
Belgium will face a big problem with responsibility, the quoted SVR statement states. It adds that "EU countries are on the verge of a social and economic crisis, their treasury is empty and they are already ready to pay for Ukrainian grain with stolen Russian property". The statement states that Belgium is right to oppose the intentions of Russian funds to be provided to Ukraine due to fears of consequences. Belgium will certainly have to answer (if Russian property is attacked), the quoted statement states statement.
A few hours after the release of this message, there has still been no official reaction from the Belgian authorities.
According to the Belgian Ministry of Finance, 258 billion euros of Russian state assets are stored in Belgium. Of this amount, 65 billion euros are subject to direct seizure, and the remaining 193 billion euros are funds from suspended transactions of the Russian central bank. Belgium ranks first in the EU in terms of the amount of blocked amounts under European sanctions imposed on Russia over the war in Ukraine. The reason is that Brussels is home to the headquarters of "Euroclear" - one of the two largest depositories in the world.
So far, the interest on these amounts has been provided to Ukraine, and in recent weeks the EU has begun discussing the possibility of giving the principal of the seized Russian assets to Kiev as a loan of 140 billion euros. It is planned that Ukraine will return the loan if Russia pays compensation for the war. The European The commission hopes to reach a decision in December, but Belgium insists it must rest on a sound legal basis.