US admits it is not a "panacea" for Ukraine, the West is ready

On January 17, Western officials at the 54th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos (Switzerland) said they were ready to discuss the idea of confiscating $300 billion in Russian assets to help Ukraine.

Phương Tây để ngỏ khả năng tịch thu tài sản Nga cho Ukraine

The West left open the possibility of seizing Russian assets for Ukraine. (Source: CNN)

However, there are also concerns about the legal process of confiscation, and even if it is possible, this does not guarantee that it will be a "panacea" for Kiev.

After Russia launched a military campaign in Ukraine in 2022, the US and its allies banned transactions with the Russian Central Bank and Ministry of Finance , freezing about $300 billion in Russian sovereign assets in the West.

Currently, countries belonging to the Group of Seven (G7) leading industrialized countries are discussing the possibility of confiscating frozen assets of Russia.

Responding to Reuters news agency, Belgian Prime Minister De Croo said he did not oppose the confiscation of frozen assets but needed a clear mechanism.

“We are not saying no to confiscating assets. But we need to work on a mechanism. For example, they can be used as collateral to raise funds for Ukraine,” he said.

We are ready to discuss further and are ready to participate in a solution to find a legal basis for those transfers to Ukraine without destabilizing the global financial system. And if there is any taxable revenue, we will 'sequester' it so that it can go to Ukraine.”

Earlier, Mr. Penny Pritzker, the US representative for economic recovery for Ukraine, said that no final decision had been made.

“First of all, you need a dozen lawyers to deal with this,” he stressed. “If a decision is made, it will ultimately be collective. It is a mistake to think that this is going to be some kind of ‘panacea’. There is a real effort going on, but we are far from conclusive.”

As for Russia, the country warned that asset seizures would go against free market principles, and the Kremlin vowed to seize American, European and other assets in response to such a move.

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