Sanctions against Russia/Illustrative photo
There are no legal contradictions in using the proceeds from Russia’s frozen assets to provide Ukraine with a $50 billion loan.
This was emphasized by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Voice of America reports.
Yellen rejected Russian dictator Putin’s accusations that using income from Russian state assets in favor of Ukraine is allegedly theft.
«In no sense is it theft. Russian assets remain in this institution. They have been immobilized. The term of the Russian investment has already expired. Russia’s money is in the form of cash, but it accrues income for an institution to which Russia has no rights», — she emphasized.
Almost 200 billion US dollars of immobilized Russian state assets will remain frozen in a Belgian financial institution, and this institution is earning income from them, Yellen reminded.
The European Union has already agreed to transfer to Ukraine the income from the frozen Russian assets, which is estimated to be about three billion US dollars a year.
«There are no legal contradictions here… We are fighting a battle of will with Putin. Putin, I think, believes that our coalition will collapse and we will not be able to provide Ukraine with the resources it needs to fight this war and keep the economy running. This is how we show that we have the ability and the will to do it», — the US Treasury Secretary added.
Last week, the G7 agreed on a plan to provide Ukraine with a $50 billion loan. The loan will be repaid from the proceeds of the seizure of Russian assets. Putin called the plan «theft» and threatened that it «will not go unpunished.»