Washington reportedly wants to come up with a plan in time for the group’s February summit
The United States has called for working groups from the Group of Seven (G7) countries to explore ways to confiscate hundreds of billions of dollars in frozen Russian assets, the Financial Times reported this week.
The United States, backed by the UK, Japan and Canada, has proposed setting up preparatory work for expropriating over $300 billion in Russian foreign exchange reserves that were immobilized by Western nations after the start of the Ukraine conflict.
Washington wants to consider options for the confiscation at a G7 leaders’ meeting around February 24 next year, according to the outlet. Discussions on how to develop a policy regarding Russian funds, and what risks are involved, were reportedly held in December by G7 finance ministers and their deputies.
“The three working groups proposed by Washington would examine the legal issues around confiscation; the method of applying such a policy and mitigating risks; and options for how to best channel the support to Ukraine,” the FT wrote.
While no final decisions have been taken and the issue remains highly debated in the EU, the acceleration of work to seize Moscow’s assets and use them to help Ukraine highlights its “rising importance” for the West, the outlet noted.
Debates are ongoing on the details, and whether the frozen funds would be sent directly to Ukraine – notorious for its corruption – or used in some other way, like tapping the proceeds from the blocked assets or using them as collateral for loans.
Read more