G7 countries must urgently find a way to transfer proceeds from frozen Russian assets abroad to Ukraine, said US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on the eve of the G20 finance ministers’ meeting, according to Associated Press.
“I believe there is a strong international law, economic, and moral case for moving forward. This would be a decisive response to Russia’s unprecedented threat to global stability. It would make clear that Russia cannot win by prolonging the war and would incentivize it to come to the table to negotiate a just peace with Ukraine,” said the minister.
Yellen called on the EU, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the U.S. to come together to address this issue. “The G7 should work together to explore a number of approaches: seizing the assets themselves, using them as collateral to borrow from global markets,” the minister added.
France’s Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire publicly opposed Yellen’s position, indicating deep disagreements within the G7 countries, as reported by Reuters. France believes international law has insufficient legal grounds to transfer proceeds from frozen Russian assets abroad to Ukraine and that further work is needed.
Such steps must be fully supported by international law and require the backing of all G20 members, including Russia and China.
“It’s not necessarily a confrontation. We’re continuing discussions behind-the-scenes towards a common purpose, which is to seek measures that align with international law,” said Japan’s Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs, Masato Kanda, to reporters after the G7 finance ministers’ meeting.
Earlier, the UWC President called for the confiscation of Russian assets. “Finding the right formula to fund Ukraine with Russia’s frozen assets should be an international priority. This will reduce the financial pressure on Western countries and undermine economic arguments against continued international support for Ukraine,” Paul Grod wrote.
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