US threats to freeze assets not painful for Russian politicians, but destructive — Kremlin

Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the words of US President Joe Biden about possible personal sanctions against Putin in case of escalation in Ukraine

Image of Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Peskov, Photo- @Twitter/Eli Zifferblatt

US threats to freeze assets are not painful for top Russian officials, but politically destructive, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

He noted that "US congressmen and senators who are not very much familiar with the topic are talking about freezing the assets, bank accounts, and real estate of representatives of the Russian leadership, but this is due to the fact that they do not have sufficient expert knowledge."

"The fact is that, under our law, this was forbidden for representatives of the top leadership and officials a long time ago. Therefore, such a wording of the issue is absolutely not painful for any of the representatives of the top leadership," Peskov said.

He noted that "politically this is not painful, it's destructive."

The Kremlin spokesman confirmed that President Vladimir Putin still receives his salary to an account in the Rossiya Bank, which is already under sanctions.

"Of course," he said responding to a relevant question.

Peskov declined to comment on the words of US President Joe Biden about possible personal sanctions against Putin in case of escalation in Ukraine.

"The point of the commentary remains the same as in the case of previous statements (on possible US sanctions against Russia - TASS). There is nothing to add to what was said on this topic," the Kremlin spokesman said.

Earlier, in an interview with CNN, Peskov said that the sanctions proposed in the United States against the Russian leadership could lead to the breakup of relations between the two countries.

Sanction threats

US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday he would consider personal sanctions on President Vladimir Putin if Russia invades Ukraine.

The American leader did not rule out an increase in NATO's presence on the eastern flank, including in Poland and Romania.

Earlier, a group of Democrat legislators led by Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey introduced a bill to the US Senate on restrictions against Russia if tensions around Ukraine escalate. It involves, among other things, sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin, the prime minister, heads of the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Defense, the chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, and other members of the military leadership. In addition, restrictive measures may affect the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

Recently, claims of Russia’s potential invasion of Ukraine have been echoed quite often in Ukraine and throughout Western countries. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov lambasted such reports as an "empty and groundless escalation of tensions", underscoring that Russia does not pose any threat to anyone. Peskov noted that provocations may happen in order to justify such claims and warned that such attempts will bear the most serious consequences.

Source: TASS