Why Global South countries protect Russian assets from confiscation

The term Global South emerged during the Cold War, but it has become widely used internationaly only after the onset of Russia's aggression against Ukraine.

Both Ukraine and Russia are vying for the attention and favour of this bloc of countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Read more in an article by Ivan Horodysky and Sofia Kosarevych of the Dnistrianskyi Center – Images of the "South" hit Ukraine: How non-Western countries oppose the confiscation of Russian assets.

Russia views the Global South as a window of opportunity amid sanctions. The activities of Russian proxies in the Sahel region, the BRICS expansion and the increase in trade with China, India and others, even at a loss to themselves, are just part of the Kremlin's actions in this direction.

In return, Russia expects these countries to provide opportunities for circumventing sanctions and to offer political support for its aggression against Ukraine, including issues related to compensation for damages and the confiscation of Russian assets.

The topic of Russia's obligation to pay compensation for damages caused by its aggression against Ukraine is very sensitive for these countries.

One of the major stumbling blocks has been the UN General Assembly Resolution ES/11-5, Furtherance of remedy and reparation for aggression against Ukraine, adopted on 14 November 2022.

Only 94 countries supported this crucial resolution for Ukraine, including 44 from the Global South.

Perhaps the most telling statement came from Kenyan President William Ruto at the Swiss Peace Summit in June:

However, beyond public statements and political gestures, representatives of the Global South are also acting behind the scenes on the issue of confiscating the assets of the Russian Central Bank (CBR). And quite often, they act in Russia's interests.

Earlier this year, the European Union and the G7 actively worked on solutions for using Russian assets for the benefit of Ukraine.

But during that same period, there were signals that the Global South countries, including China, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, had privately approached the EU, urging them to resist pressure and refrain from confiscating these assets.

Later, specific details emerged showing that representatives of the Global South did not limit themselves to requests but also pressured the EU. For instance, Bloomberg reported that Saudi Arabia privately hinted to EU representatives that it would sell off European debt obligations if the G7 decided to confiscate the assets of the Russian Central Bank.

Moreover, Russia is using the jurisdictions of the Global South for hybrid resistance to the idea of confiscating assets for Ukraine's benefit. For example, in South Africa, a court blocked the assets of Google's local representative due to its failure to comply with a Moscow court's decision to restore the Orthodox TV channel SPAS on YouTube.

The absence of a reparations clause at the Peace Summit indicates that this issue is still highly sensitive, and besides the sympathy toward Russia, there are several other reasons for this stance.

Among them are "historical traumas." The idea of using Russian assets is unlikely to gain approval among representatives of the Global South because several of these countries have previously faced similar measures.

Thus, Russia has a clear advantage in the struggle for the favour of the Global South, including on the issue of reparations for Ukraine.

However, this does not mean that these countries are unconditionally loyal to Russia. They primarily protect their own interests. So if it can be demonstrated that a particular form of support for Ukraine, including the confiscation of Russian assets, will not harm them or will align with shared interests, it is likely to gain their support.