Russia to sell gold to 'legitimate markets' in case of G7 ban

Russia will sell its gold to markets "with more legitimate economic systems" if it is banned on European markets, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

Responding to U.S. President Joe Biden's announcement on Sunday that the G7 countries will impose a ban on Russian gold imports, Peskov stated that "the precious metals market is large."

"The precious metals market is global, it is quite large, voluminous and very diverse. As with other goods, of course, if one market loses its attractiveness due to illegitimate decisions, then there is a reorientation to where these goods are more in demand and where there are more comfortable and more legitimate economic systems," he said.

The spokesman dismissed comments about Russia defaulting on external obligations as "absolutely illegal," saying that the necessary payment in foreign currency was paid in May. However, he said Euroclear, a financial services company based in Belgium that specializes in the settlement of securities transactions, withheld the money and did not deliver it to the recipient.

When asked about reports that the U.S. planned to deliver intermediate- and long-range missile defense systems to Ukraine, Peskov said Washington has not informed Moscow of such plans, but "actions to protect Russia's interests are being taken on an ongoing basis."

In response to Ukraine's intelligence chief's threats of terrorist attacks on Russian territory, Peskov stated that "relevant measures have been strengthened to the maximum (extent possible)."

Earlier, the head of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine Kirill Budanov said in an interview with the U.S. daily Financial Times that partisan activity in Russian-controlled territories is intensifying, and that such attacks and sabotage "take place everywhere, and they have been and will be carried out in Russia and many other places."

However, Budanov refused to clarify whether the Ukrainian authorities were behind these actions.