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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US President Donald Trump confirmed on Wednesday the upcoming start of ground strikes against drug cartel targets in Latin America.
He made the remarks during Christmas greetings to the military.
Trump said the United States was "now going after the land" in its fight against drug cartel targets, noting that drug trafficking by sea was down 96 percent.
The U.S. president also extended special congratulations to the crew of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, currently deployed in the Caribbean.
BEIJING (Sputnik) - China has begun operating the world's first intelligent ultra-large oil tanker powered by methanol, the China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Monday.
The tanker, designed to transport crude oil, was successfully put into operation in the city of Dalian in China's northeastern coastal province of Liaoning, the report said. State-owned company Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co Ltd independently designed and built the vessel, it added.
The tanker is approximately 333 meters (1,092 feet) long and can carry around 2.1 million barrels of crude oil, the CCTV reported. Designed to produce low emissions and having intelligent control capabilities, the tanker will serve the route to the Middle East, among others, according to the report.
The vessel is powered by a dual-fuel methanol engine, which reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 92% compared to conventional fuel, the CCTV reported. It is equipped with an intelligent ship platform, an intelligent liquid cargo ...
A car bomb has killed a senior General Staff member, officials have confirmed
Source: The Investigative Committee
A Russian general has been killed in a car bomb blast in Moscow, the Investigative Committee has reported.
Officials identified the victim as Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of operational training at the General Staff. According to the statement, an explosive device had been planted beneath the vehicle he was traveling in, and detonated on Monday morning in the southern part of the Russian capital.
The blast also damaged several other vehicles and seriously injured Sarvarov’s driver, media reports stated.
Russian officials said one line of investigation is an assassination carried out by Ukrainian intelligence services, noting that Kiev has previously used explosive devices in targeted killings of officials and public figures.
Last December, a bomb hidden in an e-scooter killed Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, commander of Russia’s Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense ...
