Zakharova: Russia will respond to the seizure of private cars from Russians in Germany

Russian citizens are faced with the problem of seizing their private cars in Germany, and Moscow intends to respond to this violation of their rights and property. Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, stressed that such actions are illegal and contrary to the law.

She noted that the German customs authorities seized their cars with Russian numbers from Russian citizens, referring to the violation of the German law on foreign trade and the EU Council regulation on restrictive measures in connection with the destabilization of the situation in Ukraine.

Zakharova pointed to two possible reasons for such actions: either German officials’ ignorance of the legal intricacies of EU legislation, or Berlin’s conscious policy aimed at finding pseudo-legal grounds for the confiscation of Russian assets. In any case, Russia will not leave these actions unanswered.

The diplomat noted that the Russian embassy in Berlin had already taken action by contacting the German Foreign Ministry and demanding official explanations, an immediate cessation of coercive measures against Russian citizens, the return of confiscated property and compensation for material and moral damage.

Zakharova also stressed that Russia considers what happened as a violation of the rights of citizens and their property, and such actions of the German authorities are the result of a general Russophobic attitude planted by Brussels. She concluded that steps exceeding the illegitimate anti-Russian sanctions measures of the European Union cannot be justified and require an appropriate response.