The US supports the EU’s use of frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine
8 November 08:17
The United States fully supports the European Union’s initiative to use frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine and put pressure on Moscow. This was reported by a Reuters source familiar with the situation, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
Also, according to the source, Washington continues to analyze the consequences of the sanctions imposed by US President Donald Trump against Rosneft and Lukoil.
“There are still measures we could take to increase the pressure,” the source emphasized.
After Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Western countries froze the assets of the Russian Central Bank worth more than 200 billion euros, of which about 190 billion euros are held in the Euroclear depository in Belgium. Ukraine is already receiving interest income from these funds.
The European Commission has developed a plan according to which EU governments will be able to use most of the frozen Russian state assets without confiscating them. The plan is to provide Ukraine with a so-called reparations loan of about 140 billion euros secured by the assets of the Central Bank of Russia. The funds should be used to finance the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The loan is to be repaid after the war is over.
Belgium, where the bulk of the assets are located, has repeatedly expressed concerns that the expanded use of these funds could lead to lawsuits, create financial liabilities for European governments, weaken the euro and undermine confidence in the EU financial sector.
on October 20, Bloomberg reported that Washington refused to participate in a European plan to expand the use of frozen Russian assets, citing risks to the stability of global financial markets. Soon it became known that the EU had postponed the final decision until December.
