Calls to seize Russia's frozen central bank assets follow "English traditions," the Foreign Ministry has said

Russia has accused the United Kingdom of engaging in modern-day piracy following former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's call to seize the Russian assets that were frozen in the West as part of Ukraine-related sanctions.

In a social media post on Sunday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova likened Sunak's position to historical acts of piracy.

"This is one of the English traditions, like tea drinking and horse racing. The fact is that piracy was legalized in England. Pirates were forbidden to attack English ships but were allowed to plunder rival vessels," Zakharova wrote on Telegram.

Zakharova's criticism follows Sunak's post on X, where he claimed that "Now is the time to seize [the Russian assets] and make Russia pay." 

The former British prime minister was referring to the roughly $300 billion in assets belonging to Russia's central bank that had been immobilized by the Western financial system as part of Ukraine-related sanctions since 2022. The assets are mostly EU, US, and British government bonds held in a Brussels-based securities depository.

"If we don't act, [the assets] could be handed back to Moscow to fund Putin's next war," Sunak wrote on Sunday.

The UK has consistently supported the seizure of frozen Russian assets. Last month, Foreign Secretary David Lammy said that Europe should move from freezing Russian assets to actively seizing them.

Earlier this month, the British government agreed to issue a $2.84 billion loan to Ukraine backed by the income generated by the assets. In response, Moscow accused London of violating international law and warned that it will have to give the money back.

The EU's economic sanctions against Russia come up for renewal every six months with the next extension due in July.

The US launched negotiations last month to broker peace in Ukraine, with President Donald Trump indicating that sanctions against Moscow could be lifted if a settlement is achieved. Additionally, Hungary has repeatedly threatened to veto the renewal of EU sanctions against Russia. This means that the assets could potentially be released and returned to Moscow.

The European Parliament last week called on EU member states, in collaboration with G7 partners, to "immediately seize all frozen Russian assets" in order to continue financing Kiev.

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Moscow has repeatedly decried the asset freeze as "theft," while the Kremlin has warned of consequences if Western countries go ahead with the proposed confiscation.