US, Allies Mulling Providing Ukraine With $50Bln From Russian Asset Profits – Reports

WASHINGTON, (Sputnik) – The US is holding talks with allied states on leading a group that would give up to $50 billion in assistance to Ukraine which would be repaid by the windfall profits of Russian frozen assets, Bloomberg reported on Friday.

The plan is reportedly being discussed by the Group of Seven (G7) with the aim of reaching an agreement before the group's upcoming summit in Italy in June, Bloomberg reported, citing US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and other officials familiar with the matter.

Discussions on the topic have been complicated, and reaching an agreement could take several more months, the report said, citing unnamed sources. Nonetheless, the move is set to put heightened pressure on the European Union to desist from objecting to the use of Russian assets, it added.

Talks over the matter were confirmed by Yellen, who in an interview with Bloomberg said that “it’s something we’re discussing.”

“Ideally, this is something we would like the entire G-7 to participate in, be part of, not just have the United States doing it alone,” Yellen was quoted as saying.

Seized Russian assets have generated about 3.9 billion euros ($4.2 billion) in net profit since last year, the report said.

Earlier on Friday, the Financial Times newspaper reported that representatives of the G7 countries privately express that a complete confiscation of Russia's frozen assets is no longer on the agenda, with the group now exploring alternative measures to extract funds.

The G7, spearheaded by the United States and the European Union, has been discussing legal ways to confiscate Russian assets since the start of Russia's military operation in Ukraine in early 2022. Moscow has criticized the efforts to seize its sovereign assets as an act of theft and a violation of international law. The European Central Bank has warned that seizure poses reputational risks to the euro in the long term.