- Lavrov warns Moscow will retaliate forcefully.
- Threat targets European troop deployment in Ukraine.
- Retaliation promised if frozen Russian assets seized.
In front of Russia's upper chamber of parliament, the Federation Council, Lavrov gave a speech detailing Moscow's position on the war and its conflict with the West. According to Reuters, Lavrov stated that while Russia does not intend to go to war with Europe, it is ready to take action if it believes Western nations are intensifying the confrontation.
"We will respond to any hostile steps, including the deployment of European military contingents in Ukraine and the expropriation of Russian assets. And we are already prepared for this response,"
Lavrov said, according to Reuters.
Lavrov also commended President Donald Trump for his attitude to a possible resolution, referring to him as the "only Western leader" who comprehends the reasons why the war was "inevitable." According to Reuters, he stated that Moscow values Trump's desire for communication but pointed out that Trump is "not only in no hurry to lift, but is actually increasing" sanctions on Russia.
Trump's criticism of Europe earlier this week was mentioned in his remarks. Trump claimed in a Monday interview with Politico that European leaders "talk but they don't produce," calling them "weak" and preoccupied with being "politically correct." He went on to say that even if it "provokes pushback," he intends to keep supporting European politicians who hold similar opinions.
"If we are allies, we must act as such — and allies do not threaten to interfere in each other’s domestic political life and democratic choices,"
European Council President António Costa told a crowd at the Jacques Delors Institute conference in Paris on Monday, criticizing Trump's comments, according to Reuters. Europe and the UnitedStates "no longer share" the same understanding of the global system, Costa continued.
"We will respond to any hostile steps, including the deployment of European military contingents in Ukraine and the expropriation of Russian assets. And we are already prepared for this response,"
Lavrov said, according to Reuters.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, announced what he described as the first official meeting with senior Trump administration officials on Ukraine's reconstruction while Lavrov accused Europe of impeding peace efforts.
According to him, they talked about "key elements for recovery, various mechanisms, and visions for reconstruction" and went over revisions to the "20 points of the framework document for ending the war." Zelenskyy stated that "overall security… will determine economic security and underpin a safe business environment."
The Ukrainian president said both sides agreed to continue talks, adding:
"As always, there will be no delays on our side. We are working to deliver results." He closed by thanking Trump, writing:
"I thank President Trump and his team for their substantive work and support."
What legal mechanisms allow Europe to use frozen central bank assets?
Europe can use frozen Russian central bank means primarily through circular mechanisms like interest income redirection and" restitutions loans" backed by those means, avoiding outright confiscation to misbehave with transnational law on autonomous impunity.
EU regulations bear magazines like Euroclear to insulate and deflect gains (around €3 – 5 billion annually) from progressed bonds to a Ukraine Support Fund, justified as countermeasures under Council Regulation 833/2014 for Russia's war aggression.
The European Commission's offer creates a special purpose vehicle( SPV) where Euroclear transfers cash balances from frozen means to the EU at zero interest; the EU also issues zero-pasteboard bonds guaranteed by G7 countries to advance €90 – 140 billion to Ukraine, using Composition 122( 1) TFEU for exigency measures via good maturity voting.