Moscow
\nPresident Vladimir Putin has signed a decree that takes temporary control of the Russian subsidiaries of two foreign energy firms, signalling that Moscow could take similar action against other international companies if Russian assets abroad are seized.
\nThe decree \u2014 outlining possible retaliation if Russian assets abroad are harmed \u2014 showed Moscow had already taken action against Germany\u2019s Uniper division in Russia and the assets of Finland\u2019s Fortum Oyj.
\nThe decree said Russia needed to take urgent measures to respond to unspecified actions from the United States and others it said were \u201cunfriendly and contrary to international law\u201d.
\nIn October, European Council President Charles Michel said the European Union was looking at using seized Russian assets \u2014 frozen under sanctions against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine \u2014 to help rebuild Ukraine.
\nThe chief executive of Russia\u2019s state-owned Bank VTB PAO said on Monday that Moscow should consider taking over the assets of foreign companies in Russia, such as Fortum, and only return them when sanctions over the war in Ukraine are lifted.
\nShares in Uniper and Fortum Oyj have been placed in the temporary control of Rosimushchestvo, the Russian federal government\u2019s property agency, the decree said.
\nRosimushchestvo said more foreign firms could find their assets under temporary Russian control, state news agency TASS reported.
\n\u201cThe decree does not concern ownership issues and does not deprive owners of their assets. External management is temporary in nature and means the original owner no longer has the right to make management decisions,\u201d TASS cited the agency as saying.
\nIn February, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Russia should bear the costs of the huge damage caused by its war on Ukraine, though also noting that there were \u201csignificant legal obstacles\u201d to confiscating major frozen Russian assets.
\nIn November, the UN adopted a resolution calling on Russia to be held accountable for invading Ukraine, which was contrary to international law, and for Moscow to pay reparation for its destruction of Ukraine and the lives lost.
\nThe resolution stated that Moscow \u201cmust bear the legal consequences of all its internationally wrongful acts, including making reparation for injury, including any damage, caused by such acts\u201d.
\nThe temporary seizures of the two firms may come as no surprise.
\nFortum had already warned shareholders there was a risk its Russian assets could be expropriated.
\nUniper has an 83.73 percent stake in the Russian subsidiary Unipro, which for years had supplied natural gas deliveries to Germany. Even before Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, Uniper had sought to sell its stake in Unipro. A buyer was found, but the Russian authorities never approved the sale.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Moscow President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree that takes temporary control of the Russian subsidiaries of two foreign energy firms, signalling that Moscow could take similar action against other international companies if Russian assets abroad are seized. The decree \u2014 outlining possible retaliation if Russian assets abroad are harmed \u2014 showed Moscow had already […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":263343,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-327911","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n