Russia slams Japan's proposal to use frozen assets for Ukraine

The Russian Foreign Ministry has formally lodged a strong protest with Japan's Ambassador Akira Muto, over Tokyo's proposal to utilize proceeds from frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine. The protest was conveyed following a meeting between Lyudmila Vorobyova, the director of the ministry's third department, and the Japanese diplomat, reports Moscow Times.

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry emphasized that during discussions on bilateral relations, they firmly expressed their opposition to Japan's intention to redirect funds from what they described as "illegally frozen" Russian assets to provide loans as part of the Group of Seven's financial aid package to Ukraine.

The ministry further condemned Tokyo's initiative, asserting that it amounts to complicity in the Kiev regime's crimes and warned that such actions will entail severe retaliatory measures. These responses, they stated, could include targeted measures against Japan's most sensitive interests.

The responsibility for further deterioration of bilateral relations will lie entirely with the Japanese government," the Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized.
Previously, Ukraine's Ministry of Finance announced that Kiev would receive about $3 billion from Tokyo under the ERA (Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration) emergency lending program, funded by income from frozen Russian assets.

The Russian Ministry conveyed its deep concerns over Japan's plan to allocate funds from the assets, which had been frozen under international sanctions, to support Ukraine as part of the financial aid package from the Group of Seven (G7) nations.

"The Japanese side was presented with a resolute protest regarding their intention to utilize income derived from unlawfully 'frozen' Russian state assets for loans under the G7's aid initiative to Ukraine," the foreign ministry said.

The ministry went on to express that Japan's actions would effectively make Tokyo complicit in what Russia describes as the crimes of the Kyiv regime and warned of harsh retaliatory measures, including potentially asymmetric responses in areas of significant importance to Japan.

The Russian Foreign Ministry also placed full responsibility for the further deterioration of bilateral relations squarely on the Japanese government. 

Earlier in April, Ukraine's Ministry of Finance announced that Japan would provide Kyiv with up to 471.9 billion Japanese yen (approximately $3 billion) from the revenues generated as a result of the frozen Russian assets. This assistance will be part of the Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) emergency lending program.