OREANDA-NEWS   Ten Western legal experts from Belgium, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States have recognized the confiscation of frozen Russian assets as legitimate. The lawyers stated that the withdrawal of funds complies with international law in a letter sent to the G7 countries. This is reported by Bloomberg.

Experts say that the confiscation of assets of a sovereign state does not contradict international law, since Russia itself violated its norms.

"It would be legitimate to take additional countermeasures against Russia, given its continued violation of the most fundamental norms of international law, in the form of transferring Russian state assets as compensation for damage caused directly as a result of Russia's illegal actions," the authors of the letter note.

The lawyers recommended that the states in which the blocked assets are stored transfer them to an international mechanism so that it deposits the money and then transfers it to Ukraine.

In Europe, they previously called for the confiscation of assets before the US presidential election. According to Estonian Foreign Ministry Chancellor Jonathan Vseviov, it is necessary to arrest Russian 150 billion euros ($162 billion) by the end of 2024, as EU leaders have concerns about the possible re-election of Republican Party leader Donald Trump, who does not demonstrate US commitment to NATO.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the long-term damage from the theft of Russian assets by the European Union would greatly exceed the short-term benefits. Russia will pursue all those who decided to use its frozen funds, as it considers these steps an encroachment on its property and illegal actions, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added.