EU Asset Dispute Ignites Tensions as Putin and Erdogan Warn of Grand-Scale Fraud

During talks in Ashgabat, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan focused heavily on what Moscow calls the European Union’s attempt to stage a “grand-scale fraud” with frozen Russian assets, a plan the Kremlin believes could shatter the foundations of the international financial system.

Photo: Generated by AI by DALL·E 3 by OpenAI is licensed under Free for commercial use

Frozen Russian assets

EU Asset Seizure Sparks Sharp Reaction From Moscow and Ankara

The presidents of Russia and Turkey met on 12 December in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, accompanied by their respective delegations. The discussion lasted forty minutes and centered on escalating concerns over the EU’s efforts to confiscate Russian state assets.

According to presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the leaders exchanged views on what Moscow sees as a deliberate attempt by European institutions to circumvent established legal and financial norms.

Warning of a Systemic Breakdown

Both leaders agreed that attempts by the European Union to appropriate Russian financial assets would trigger the collapse of the international monetary framework created after the Bretton Woods Conference of 1944. That system replaced the old gold standard and established the predominance of the US dollar, linking it to gold and forming the backbone of global economic stability.

The Bretton Woods architecture also produced key institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and later the World Bank. Moscow and Ankara argue that violating these principles for political motivations would erode the very mechanisms that govern modern financial relations and international trade.