WASHINGTON: The U.S. and its Group of Seven (G7) allies are continuing to explore a range of possibilities to unlock the value of nearly $300 billion in frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday.
Yellen said the United States and the G7 were absolutelycommitted to Ukraine’s support, and she urged Congress toapprove urgently needed military and budgetary support.
“This is a humanitarian and moral imperative, and also aneconomic war, given the war’s significant negative impact oneconomies around the world,” Yellen said in a news conference on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the InternationalMonetary Fund and World Bank in Washington.
Yellen said she feared Russia could be emboldened by thedomestic debate in the U.S. and elsewhere over continued aid toUkraine.
“I do fear that Russia is beginning to see signs thatthe U.S. and our allies are tiring, or finding it more difficultto find ways to support Ukraine, and that gives them hope thatthey can outlast us and wait for our resolve to crumble,” shesaid.
Russia says EU frozen assets plan is theft, will lead to decades of lawsuits
But Ukraine needs ongoing streams of support, and thatwas driving the quest to monetize the frozen Russian assets, sheadded.
Yellen said she had engaged in many conversations aboutthe issue and it would be discussed at a meeting of Group ofSeven (G7) advanced economies on Wednesday.
She said a series of possibilities were underdiscussion, from seizing assets outright to using them ascollateral, noting that Washington was “very supportive” ofmoves by the European Union to segregate the interest incomefrom the immobilized assets.
A senior Treasury official said no options had beentaken off the table but noted that Ukraine also wouldn’t havethe capacity to absorb the full amount at once, even if all thefrozen assets were seized.
Yellen said Western officials were evaluating the risksinvolved in any such move, including Russian threats ofretaliation, but expressed confidence they could be mitigated.
Discussions would continue this week, the Treasuryofficial said, but no major milestones were expected. Theofficial declined to say which option was more likely, notingthat the ultimate decision would be made by G7 leaders.
The official noted that past actions - including thefreezing of the assets in the first place - had also appearedunlikely in the months before they were implemented.