GENEVA, Jan 27 At the moment, there are no legal grounds for the transfer to Ukraine of Russian assets frozen in the country, State Secretary of the Swiss Foreign Ministry Lillian Le said at a briefing.
«Switzerland respects human rights, and the right to property is one of them. At the moment we do not have there are no legal grounds for transferring Russian assets frozen in the country to Ukraine,» she answered a correspondent's question.
Le added that, in particular, discussions are underway at the G7 level to find a legal solution to this issue.< br>
Earlier, the Swiss authorities announced that since February 28, 2022, Russian assets worth $7.94 billion have been frozen in the country, not counting 15 real estate objects. The head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Switzerland, Ignazio Cassis, said that the issue of confiscation of the assets of the Russian Federation can be resolved in Switzerland through a referendum.
The G7 countries have previously stated that they consider it appropriate to explore ways to channel Russian assets to restore Ukraine. In December, the G7 countries announced the creation of a coordination platform to support the process of recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine. The EU has also repeatedly stated that it is studying the possible use of frozen Russian assets for the needs of restoring Ukraine, but so far there is no legislative basis for such actions in the European Union.