Kremlin on UN resolution for Russian reparations to Ukraine: ‘This is formalized plunder’ of ‘our gold reserves’

Russia is categorically against the adoption of the UN General Assembly’s resolution to compel Russian reparations for war damages in Ukraine. Commenting on the resolution, the Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said:

It’s only natural that the organizers of this process are trying to finish plundering our gold reserves, which have been illegally blocked. This is nothing but formalized plunder, with the UN for a platform.

Peskov noted that the General Assembly’s resolution is not legally binding. It is true that, unlike the UN Security Council resolutions, General Assembly resolutions have the status of recommendations.

• The resolution, adopted by the UN General Assembly on November 14, contains provisions for establishing a register of Ukrainian war damages caused by Russia, and further mechanisms for collecting reparations for Ukraine.
• 93 countries voted in favor of the resolution, and 73 abstained. China was among the 13 countries that voted against it, even though it’s known to often abstain from such voting.
• Both the U.S. and the European Union have blocked the Russian gold reserves within their disposal. Authorities in these countries have made clear that they would look for a legal means to confiscate those assets in compensation for Ukraine’s war damages.

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