MOSCOW. Jan 31 (Interfax) - Moscow will see any steps by the European Union towards seizing and using immobilized Russian assets as a trade war and the escalation of economic aggression against Russia, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.
"The only thing that keeps them from the last step is the consequences. They see that we're responding, and this frustrates them, to put it mildly. And they understand that the response will be extremely tough," Zakharova said at a press briefing.
"No matter what fraudulent scheme the European Union might invent, this doesn't change the essence. We're talking about an attempt to legitimize theft," she said.
"We view such actions not only as plain theft, but also literally as a trade war and the escalation of the West's economic aggression against our country," she said.
"Any attempts to confiscate assets belonging to our country, whose legality nobody has questioned and nobody can question, would constitute a blatant violation of international law," she said.
"And by the way, [this would also violate] the national laws of those countries, and certainly, a host of bilateral documents and obligations," Zakharova said.
The EU's Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) on Monday approved the European Commission's proposal that revenues from immobilized Russian assets be used to support Ukraine.