MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, Andrei Kondakov, the director-general of the International Center for Legal Protection, told Sputnik that the court in Brussels ruled to release all Russian assets in Belgium including those of RIA Novosti and TASS news agencies, seized as part of the case involving former shareholders of Yukos energy company.
"One can only conclude that justice has prevailed and the Europe is gradually starting to realize the absurdity of claims to the Russian organizations, including media," Simonyan said.
In July 2014, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague ordered Russia to pay former Yukos shareholders $50 billion. Moscow appealed the decision, but the shareholders turned to courts in several countries asking to freeze Russian state assets. The demand was granted in France and Belgium in 2015.
As a result, accounts of Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency offices in Paris and Brussels were under arrest, while the reporters continued to work in a regular mode as the buildings were not the agency's property but were rented.
In April, District court of the Hague reversed the decision of the local arbitration on collecting from Russia of 50 billion dollars in favor of the former shareholders of Yukos oil company, explaining that the case is not in the competence of the Hague Tribunal.
Rossiya Segodnya is an international media group offering alternative views on key events in Russia and elsewhere in a prompt, balanced, and unbiased manner. The agency operates a number of information resources, including RIA Novosti, Sputnik, RIA Real Estate, Prime, R-Sport, RIA Rating and InoSMI.
