On Thursday, media reported, citing US and European officials, that Washington and its European allies had renewed discussions to seize $300 billion in frozen Russian assets to help fund Ukraine.
"Those who are trying to initiate this, and those who will implement it, must understand that Russia will never leave those who did this alone. And it will constantly exercise its right to a legal battle, internationally, nationally or otherwise. And this, of course, will have — both Europeans and Americans understand this very well — it will have legal consequences for those who initiated and implemented it," Peskov told reporters.
The topic of illegally seized assets from Russia are constantly on the agenda in the EU and the US, but this is unacceptable and potentially dangerous for the global financial system, the official said.
An official from the Biden administration told reporters on Friday that there was nothing to announce yet regarding the US position, but added that the conversation on efforts to seize Russian state funds was ongoing.
The United States has been pushing the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan to come up with a strategy on how to seize Russian assets by February 24, the New York Times reported. US funding for Ukraine is set to run out by December 30 after Congress failed to authorize new funds before recess.
Most of the immobilized Russian funds — roughly 210 billion euros ($232 billion) — are held in the European Union, including cash and government bonds denominated in euro, dollar and other currencies. By comparison, the United States has frozen only a fraction of Russian funds — around $5 billion. Within the EU, some 191 billion euros is held at Belgium-based international securities depository, Euroclear, generating 3 billion euros in reinvestment proceeds last year alone.
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has accused the West of illegally curtailing property rights of Russian citizens and legal entities. He said Western governments were placing subsidiaries of Russian companies under external supervision and working on a legal framework that would allow them to take control of frozen Russian assets.
Furthermore, Ukraine's would-be entry to the European Union would undermine the bloc's entire internal system, and it would collapse, Peskov cautioned.
Commenting on Brussels' decision to start accession talks with Kiev, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Thursday called on EU members to first clarify the current size and population of Ukraine, asking if Brussels intended to accept it along with the liberated regions and the Russian military stationed there.
"To welcome a country like Ukraine into the EU, regardless of its territorial problems ... This will simply undermine the entire system of the European Union. And cooler heads understand that this will be a load that the EU simply cannot shoulder, and the EU will collapse," Peskov told reporters.
When asked to comment on Orban's remark, the official said that the new regions are inseparable from Russia, and claims to them will have consequences.
Peskov on Friday declined to comment on a recent report by The Wall Street Journal on the death of Wagner group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, calling it "pulp fiction."
"We have seen the report, but would not like to comment on that. It cannot be commented on, I mean, these materials. Recently, The Wall Street Journal has unfortunately been keen on creating pulp fiction," Peskov told reporters.
Earlier in the day, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources, that Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev had been involved in the death of Prigozhin.