Canada is spearheading the issue of seizing Russian assets and has developed unilateral legal procedures through its domestic legislation.
The Senate of Canada is officially considering a bill to seize Russian state assets, as stated to the newspaper Izvestia by Russia's ambassador to Ottawa, Oleg Stepanov. According to him, Canada will continue to coordinate its position with Brussels and may share its legal framework for asset seizure with the European Union.
European disagreements and pressure on governments
In the European Union, consensus has not been reached on using Russian assets as financing for a loan to Ukraine, with Belgium, France, and Italy opposing the proposal. In the coming days, European Commission representatives will attempt to persuade Belgium, while member states have been given two options by Brussels: either to seize Russian assets or to fund Kyiv from their own national budgets. Stepanov stressed that Moscow has already prepared a package of countermeasures if the decision to seize assets moves forward.
Canada "leads" the initiative
Stepanov underlined that Canada is spearheading the issue of seizing Russian assets and has developed unilateral legal procedures through its domestic legislation, allowing the seizure of foreign private property. The resumption of the discussion of the relevant bill in the Senate demonstrates that Ottawa will continue to align with the European approach. Evgeny Khoroshilov from the Institute for US and Canada Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences told Izvestia that no serious obstacles are expected in advancing the legislative initiative, as it is mainly a procedural matter that now depends on a political decision by the government of Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Possible legal and diplomatic consequences
Georgy Ostapkovich, Director of the Center for Market Studies at the Higher School of Economics, noted that so far the only country that has taken concrete steps towards the seizure of Russian assets is Estonia. However, a potential adoption of such a law by Canada would have significant consequences. As he explained, such a move will lead to court proceedings that will last for years, while Russia will almost certainly take retaliatory measures.
Small probability of return of Russian funds
Ostapkovich estimates that, while the official seizure of funds may remain unlikely for now, their return also seems improbable for at least the next decade. As he mentioned, the West will seek to delay this possibility, while also utilizing the interest generated by the frozen funds.
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