Berlin should not “ignore international law” unless it wants other countries to follow suit, Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin says
The proposed confiscation of Russian funds and property by Germany and their subsequent transfer to Ukraine may create a dangerous precedent in international law, Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, has claimed.
In a post on Thursday to his official Telegram channel, Volodin wrote that the measure runs counter to international law, and may lead other countries to take similar actions.
“They plan to seize Russian assets to rebuild Ukraine… This will start a process where all states ignore international law and take what they see fit at their own discretion,” Volodin warned, adding that Germany’s leadership “should remember from their own country’s history how attempts to encroach on someone else’s property ended.”
Volodin stressed that Russia will have the right to take similar steps against Germany if Russian funds are seized.
“We now live in a different reality: not only according to the UN Charter, but also based on precedents. There are no unilateral decisions, the rules must be the same for everyone. The same goes for the seizure of money and property. Once such a decision is made, we have the right to take similar actions against the assets of Germany and other states,” the official said.
The idea of seizing frozen Russian assets to help rebuild Ukraine has been discussed within the EU for some time. According to a recent report by Bloomberg, Berlin has stepped up negotiations on the controversial step and is mulling the option of selectively confiscating assets, only taking the funds of Russians whose involvement in the Ukraine operation has been proven.
Germany ‘open’ to seizing frozen Russian assets – Bloomberg
MORE: Germany ‘open’ to seizing frozen Russian assets – Bloomberg
However, opinions reportedly differ within the German government on whether the measure should be introduced and to what extent. The selective approach, for instance, would be difficult to implement, as it may take years for each case to go through the courts, analysts warn.
Amid the sanctions that followed the start of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine last February, Western governments froze some €300 billion ($311 billion) in reserves belonging to the Russian central bank, along with billions in assets owned by sanctioned Russian businessmen.
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Volker Turk has warned that efforts to advance reparatory justice are facing resistance in “certain quarters,” and urged countries to back Africa’s push.
Reparatory justice for historical crimes, including colonialism, enslavement, and the trade in enslaved Africans, is crucial to dismantling systemic racism, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has said.
Speaking at the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent on Tuesday, Turk linked present-day discrimination against people from the continent to the enduring legacy of colonialism and enslavement.
”Racism and dehumanizing rhetoric continue to permeate public institutions, communities, and online platforms,” he said, according to the UN Press Service. Turk noted that “digital technologies, including AI, are reproducing and amplifying existing biases against people of African descent.”
The remarks come weeks after the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade “the gravest...
The US VP had to defend President Trump’s Gaza policy at a rally on a Georgia college campus.
US Vice President J.D. Vance was forced to defend Washington’s policy in Gaza after he was booed and heckled at a key MAGA event on Wednesday.
Co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA (TPUSA) is a conservative student group that has long been seen as a strong support base of President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement but is now showing apparent cracks.
Less than 15 minutes into a TPUSA event at the University of Georgia on Wednesday, Vance was interrupted by hecklers over US policy in Gaza, with one audience member shouting, “Jesus Christ does not support genocide!” As he attempted to respond, others shouted, “You’re killing children!” and “You’re bombing children!”
Vance replied by referring to Trump’s achievements as president, including securing a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, something he said the previous administration of Joe Biden failed to do.
“I ...
Sergey Shoigu has cautioned Finland and the Baltic states against allowing Kiev to use their airspace for attacks on Russia.
Russia would have the right to retaliate if Finland and the Baltic states are deliberately allowing Ukrainian drones to pass through their airspace, Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu said on Thursday.
“Recently, there has been an increase in Ukrainian drone strikes against Russia via Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia,” Shoigu told journalists. “As a result, civilians are suffering and significant damage is being caused to civilian infrastructure.”
Either Western air defenses are proving ineffective, or these four countries “deliberately provide their airspace, thereby becoming open accomplices in aggression against Russia,” he added. In the latter case, Moscow has the right to self-defense in response to an “armed attack” under Article 51 of the UN Charter, the security chief stressed.
In recent weeks, Kiev has intensified drone strikes on ...
