Russia entitled to do whatever it wants with assets of unfriendly states — Medvedev

Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev
©Yekaterina Shtukina/POOL/TASS

Russia should not stick to "traditional courtesy" and shoul use all available means of defense, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev believes.

"Boundaries of traditional courtesy must not limit us in our choice of methods of defense in any way after the imposition of illegitimate, totally boorish sanctions against our country. This includes any use of rights and property of economy subjects from unfriendly states," Medvedev said in his article for Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

"We are entitled to do whatever we consider appropriate based on our law with their assets," he believes.

"It is obvious that states, which have been subjected to illegal sanctions or restrictions by Washington and other Western states to some degree, will seek to circumvent all these restrictions. By acting quietly or, on the contrary, by acting boldly, disregarding international rules, without taking any interests of developed nations into account, including rejection of protection of their intellectual property," the official said. "We’ve got yet to learn all that."

The Russian Central Bank (Bank of Russia) on Friday imposed restrictions on the movement of funds to countries that introduced economic sanctions against Russia in connection with its military operation in Ukraine.

“In response to the partial freezing of Russian reserves, Russia also introduced restrictions on the movement of funds that could be transferred to unfriendly countries, for a comparable amount,” a statement on the website of the Bank of Russia reads.

The regulator explained that it is essentially applying a “mirror measure,” banning the movement of capital, the sale of securities by foreign investors, and their withdrawal of funds from the Russian financial system.

In addition, payments on the corporate debt of Russian companies and government debt to holders from countries that support sanctions against Russia can now only take place with the permission of a government commission.

Political settlement in Ukraine possible, but not on Kiev’s terms — Foreign Ministry

Russia does not reject the option of political settlement in Ukraine, but it will not talk under Kiev’s preconditions, says Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin.

"The total inadequacy of decisions and actions of the current Kiev regime, whose politicians are notorious for their carelessness, inability to negotiate and blatant Russophobia, is obvious. And, although Russia does not reject the option for negotiations and a political resolution of the conflict, we are not going to talk under preconditions, put forth by the Kiev authorities. Everything now depends exclusively on the readiness of Kiev and its Western puppeteers for a true political and diplomatic resolution of the crisis," the senior diplomat told TASS.

Galuzin also called the "so-called peace initiatives" of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, "that, if implemented, he allegedly is ready for a truce with Russia under" totally unacceptable.

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin
©Anton Novoderezhkin/TASS

"The Ukrainian leader’s proposal to make a ‘gesture of good will’ and withdraw Russian forces from Ukrainian territory for Christmas is also absurd. It is also unclear how all these slogans and calls correspond with Zelensky’s decree, signed on September 30, about the ‘impossibility’ of negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin," the Deputy Foreign Minister added.