Citaat:

Oorspronkelijk geplaatst door Thuleander Dat zou nogal een plaatje zijn, zo'n paddenstoelwolk boven Brussel, de NATO, het Europees parlement, de VRT, de moderne multiculturele verstedelijking... Dat alles in één flits weg, ik mag er niet aan denken.

Belgium to unblock frozen Russian assets – Foreign Minister

Belgium is set to unblock the Russian embassy assets that were frozen over legal claims by shareholders of former oil giant Yukos, according to the Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders. “A solution has been found to unblock, as a priority, accounts for the running of the embassies, and the rest will follow,” a ministry spokesman told AFP, quoting the Reynders. It comes a day after Moscow vowed retaliation against state-linked foreign companies operating in Russia.

Moscow has summoned the Belgian ambassador to lodge a protest over the freeze of its state assets. It said that Moscow may consider retaliatory measures against Belgium if the assets are seized, including against Belgium diplomatic property in Russia.

This comes after Belgian bailiffs notified Belgian, Russian and other international companies of the seizure of assets belonging to Russia at the behest of the Isle of Man-based Yukos Universal Limited, a subsidiary of the Russian energy giant, which was dismantled in 2007. They have given the target companies a fortnight to comply.

“The frozen Russian assets include accounts of the Russian Embassy and Russia’s Permanent Mission to the UN. Even without any further analysis, this means a blatant violation of international law. We don’t yet know what the official position of our Belgian partners is, but at first sight, this seems to be an excessive act,” Russia's Justice Minister Aleksandr Konovalov said.

Russia will appeal the court’s arrest of Russian property, Russian presidential aide Andrey Belousov said. According to the official, “the situation with the arrest of the property is politicized, [and] Moscow hopes to avoid a new escalation in relations.”

On Thursday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it views Belgium’s actions as “an unfriendly act” and “a blatant violation” of the norms of international law, adding that it could consider retaliatory measures against Belgium if the assets are seized.