UK announces confiscation of London property of Russian oligarchs
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on Sky News told about the expansion of British laws about sanctions:
“Any company of interest to the Kremlin and the regime in Russia can become a target. So Putin's oligarchs or Russian companies supporting the Russian state will have nowhere to hide. That's what we're going to do this week."
Ms Truss did not rule out that tougher sanctions, expected to be laid out in Parliament on Monday, could include the confiscation of Russian oligarchs' London property in the UK.
“We will not go into details of who exactly and how we will attack with sanctions. What the legislation allows us to do is to hit a much wider range of targets, so there can be no one who thinks that he will be immune to these sanctions, ”the head of the British Foreign Office said.
It is expected that a bill to tighten the sanctions regime against Russia will be presented in the British Parliament on January 31. This was reported by Russian news agencies, citing sources in government circles in the United Kingdom.
Ms Truss stressed that the UK is working closely with allies such as the US and the EU on a 'tough' package of sanctions to seriously complicate Russia's life. She also stated that the new gas pipeline between Russia and Germany should be stopped in the event of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
“We cannot prioritize short-term economic interests over the long-term survival of freedom and democracy in Europe,” she said. "This is a difficult decision that we all have to make." When asked if the UK believes that under such a scenario, the Nord Stream 2 project should be stopped, Ms Truss replied: “Completely.”
On January 25, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson discussed with US President Joe Biden, as well as the leaders of several European countries, the European Union and NATO, an "unprecedented package of sanctions" that would be imposed against Russia in the event of its invasion of Ukraine. They also discussed measures to contain Moscow's "aggression", including strengthening NATO's eastern flank. At the same time, the negotiators indicated that negotiations are the key task.