During an interview on the American television program "Face the Nation," Macron stated that France is prepared to abide by international rules and will not take extreme measures against the frozen Russian assets, but will use the income and interest from these assets to support Ukraine.
Western countries, especially EU countries, have been very cautious about directly seizing the frozen assets of the Russian central bank, which involves complex trade-offs between legal, financial credibility, and geopolitical countermeasures. If they dare to seize Russia's assets, it would lead to serious consequences, such as: 1. Loss of financial credibility, undermining the trust in the US dollar and euro as international reserve currencies, which could cause other central banks to move their assets out of the Western financial system. 2. Russia would take retaliatory actions in kind, with the scale of Western assets in Russia possibly being larger (about $500 billion), and Russia has already passed legislation authorizing countermeasures. 3. The composition of Russian assets in the West is complex (including direct investments, real estate, etc.), and it is difficult to liquidate, so direct seizure may trigger a series of legal challenges and lengthy litigation.
Therefore, the current strategy of Western countries tends to "use the income and interest without using the principal," seeking a fragile balance between sanctioning Russia and maintaining their long-term interests.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1843977127498953/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.