The Kremlin stressed Tuesday that it «categorically» rejects the resolution passed by the UN General Assembly demanding Moscow to pay reparations for the invasion of Ukraine unleashed on February 24.
«Naturally, the organizers of this process are trying to complete the theft of our gold reserves,» said Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who denounced that these funds «have been illegally blocked» through sanctions.
«At present, this theft is being formalized using the UN platform. This resolution is not legally binding (…) and we categorically reject it,» he has maintained, as reported by the Russian news agency Interfax.
He stressed that Russia «will do everything possible» to prevent the seizure of its funds and stressed that «during the last six months there has been an absolute violation of all the pillars and norms of private property and international law».
«The methods of capturing the assailant prevail. We will take this into account when adopting our positions in the future,» he said, before saying that Moscow «closely follows» the position of some allies who abstained on Monday during the vote at the UN General Assembly.
The vote resulted in 94 votes in favor, fourteen against and 73 abstentions, following an initiative calling for the creation of an international mechanism to compensate for material and personal damage and to keep a record of evidence and claims against Russia for the invasion of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian ambassador, Sergi Kislitsia, demanded that Russia be held accountable for the violation of international law and defended that the proposal «is for the benefit of all those who are being threatened or may be threatened further with the use of force.
