Italy’s central bank governor has issued what officials said was a warning that the European Union should not transfer frozen Russian state assets to Ukraine.

Bank of Italy governor Fabio Panetta gave a speech on January 26 on whether the euro could become an international reserve currency. He said a global currency’s issuer “can use its financial power to influence international developments”, but warned  “this power must be used wisely”. 

Panetta said that international relations were part of a