Russian Ambassador warns Ireland faces consequences for being 'accomplice in an outright theft'

Russian ambassador to Ireland Yury Filatov 

Ireland will face “inevitable” consequences for supporting the seizure of Russian funds for use in Ukraine, Moscow’s embassy in Dublin has warned.

Russia’s Ambassador to Ireland issued the warning after EU countries, including Ireland, formally adopted a plan earlier this month to seize profits from Russia’s frozen assets to fund weapons and aid for Ukraine.

Ambassador Yuri Filatov has warned that Ireland’s involvement in this “illegal” decision makes it an “an accomplice in an outright theft” against Russia.

“The responsibility for this criminal behavior lies upon all partakers – Ireland included – who should be prepared to take responsibility for their actions," he said.

The warning is the latest in a number from Mr Filatov since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

In his statement on Friday, Mr Filatov, added: “The Irish government has signed up for this unprecedented and illegal decision. It has nothing to do with the norms of international law and even so-called ‘rules based order’, hailed by Ireland.

“It should be clear that by doing so Ireland has become an accomplice in an outright theft, proving to be a participant in the West’s hybrid war against Russia.

“What had begun with EU sanctions and freezing of the Russian state assets is now a full scale robbery in broad daylight.” 

He said the agreement was similar to what the West has previously done to other countries that were deemed as “hostile” to Washington or Brussels.

As well as this being “an illegal expropriation, which clearly goes against the spirit and the letter of the law” he said the decision shows how unpredictable and “untrustworthy” European financial institutions are.

He warned: “That is going to increase the already started process of the withdrawal of funds by foreign investors, inevitably leading to a further economic decline of the EU, as well as to other negative consequences for European and global economy.

“The responsibility for this criminal behavior lies upon all partakers – Ireland included – who should be prepared to take responsibility for their actions.

“Since Russia regards the seizure of revenue from its frozen sovereign assets in the European Union as an economic aggression in clear violation of all legal norms and a hostile political act, the response is inevitable and it will come in the form that best suits Russia’s interests.”