Lavrov: more than $ 300 billion was stolen from Russia, but other countries do not want to talk about it

During an interview with the Italian television company Mediaset, the journalist told the minister that "Italy is concerned that Russia is cutting off gas supplies."

The facilitator asked, "What's going on?"

As Lavrov noted, a “simple thing” is happening that critics of Russia’s actions “for some reason do not want to talk about.”

“Money was stolen from us (more than $300 billion).

Taken and stolen.

Most of the amount received for the supply of gas and oil.

This became possible because PJSC Gazprom was forced to keep money in its accounts in Western banks (according to your rules).

If they wanted to “punish” Russia, they stole,” the head of the Foreign Ministry said.

Now Russia is offered to continue trading as before, “and the money will remain with them,” when they want, “they will pocket it again,” Lavrov noted.

“Here is the reason.

For some reason no one talks about it.

Where is honest journalism?

- he said.

So far, Russia has proposed making sure that deliveries are considered paid not when euros or dollars arrive at Gazprombank, but when they are converted into rubles, which can no longer be stolen, the minister recalled.

“That's the whole story.

Our partners are well aware of this.

It is important that nothing changes for buyers.

They still pay in euros and dollars the amounts specified in the contract.

The conversion is carried out after that,” he explained.

Lavrov added that Russia has no right in front of its own people "to allow the West to continue its thieving habits."

Earlier, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov noted that the Russian side regards the freezing of its reserves abroad as theft.

According to him, the West has frozen about $300 billion of Russia's gold and foreign exchange reserves.

After that, the Financial Times reported that China's regulators held an emergency meeting with Chinese and foreign banks to discuss ways to protect the country's foreign assets from US sanctions: according to the sources of the publication, Beijing was alarmed by the ability of the Americans and their allies to freeze the dollar assets of the Bank of Russia.