“They’re hurting the Russian state and they’re hurting Vladimir Putin,” Bruno Le Maire told LCI television in an interview…reports Asian Lite News
France will freeze Russian funds worth some €22 million, Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told RTL Radio on Sunday, Russian state-owned TASS news agency reported.
The freeze of the Bank of Russia assets joins a freeze of all accounts and properties of Russian oligarchs sanctioned by the West. Russian property on French territory worth up to half a billion euros, according to Le Maire, was frozen along with two yachts worth €150 million which were confiscated.
“We have managed to unveil and freeze the assets of Russian tycoons totally worth €1.8 billion on French territory apart from the Russian Central Bank’s assets,” the finance minister said.
Sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine are hurting its economy and President Vladimir Putin, the finance minister added, noting that banning Russian oil and gas imports into the European Union remained an option for Paris.
“They’re hurting the Russian state and they’re hurting Vladimir Putin,” Bruno Le Maire told LCI television in an interview.
“Should we in the immediate stop buying Russian oil, should a little bit further down the line we stop importing Russian gas? The president has never ruled out these options.”
Meanwhile, a senior Chinese government official said on Saturday that sanctions imposed by Western nations on Russia over Ukraine are increasingly “outrageous.”
Vice foreign minister Le Yucheng also acknowledged Moscow’s point of view on NATO, saying the alliance should not further expand eastwards, forcing a nuclear power like Russia “into a corner.”
China has yet to condemn Russia’s action in Ukraine or call it an invasion, though it has expressed deep concern about the war. Beijing has also opposed economic sanctions on Russia over Ukraine, which it says are unilateral and are not authorized by the UN Security Council.
“The sanctions against Russia are getting more and more outrageous,” Le said at a security forum in Beijing, adding that Russian citizens were being deprived of overseas assets “for no reason.”
“History has proven time and again that sanctions cannot solve problems. Sanctions will only harm ordinary people, impact the economic and financial system… and worsen the global economy.”