Earlier in the day, Fortum said that it will write off its Russian assets to the tune of 1.7 billion euros ($1.86 billion) that came under the control of Russia’s Federal Agency for State Property Management (Rosimushchestvo) following the decree on the external management of foreign assets.
"Russia has never used energy for political or other purposes. Russia is facing unprecedented pressure from abroad. Russia is up against the expropriation of its assets overseas. And, of course, no one should expect Russia to let this whole thing go unanswered," Peskov maintained.
On US Ploy to Hand Over Russian Funds to Kiev Regime
The Kremlin official also laced into Washington's scheme to transfer the confiscated funds of sanctioned Russian businessman Konstantin Malofeev to Kiev. He added that such a move would erode investors' trust in the US.
"Although it is difficult to imagine what can serve as a legal basis, because this is nothing more than a direct attack on what the US sees as utterly sacred - property rights. This shatters [their] credibility, and the confidence of investors, who are owners of some assets that are somehow connected with the US," Peskov stressed.
Russians have every reason to sue for damages in connection with the US confiscating their money, but there are no positive prospects for those cases, the spokesman added.
When the Kremlin launched the special military operation to protect the people of Donbass from the Kiev regime’s aggression, Western nations slapped sweeping sanctions on the Russian economy, targeting key industries like energy and banking. Moscow slammed these restrictions as illegal and tried to use the situation to its own advantage.
As President Vladimir Putin stated, the US and its Western allies believed that Russia would “collapse in two or three weeks or in a month.” Instead of that, Russia has boosted economic sovereignty and began to develop according to a new model.