“It’s clear that this will have a negative impact on the international finance system,” Putin underlined. “The trust in the eurozone will decline, will fall abruptly.”
Putin warned Europe will go through “an uneasy [economic] test,” given that Europe’s largest economy, Germany, “is in recession for the third year.”
The European Commission has repeatedly said that the initiative would not confiscate the assets, which are currently held in the Brussels-based financial depository, Euroclear. The move has met opposition from Belgium amid fears of Russian retaliation.
Rather than seizing the assets, the EU would effectively borrow money from Euroclear and wire it to Kyiv to finance its defense against Russian forces. The Commission will present the draft legal text for €140 billion Ukrainian loan very soon, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday.