WASHINGTON (AP) – Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday spoke out against the idea of liquidating Russia's central bank's roughly $300 billion in frozen assets and using it for Ukraine's long-term recovery in the most powerful public opinion yet. expressed support for.
In a speech in São Paulo, Brazil, where the Group of 20 (G20) finance ministers were meeting, Yellen said: “It is important for our coalition to take action to support Ukraine's continued resistance and long-term recovery.'' It is necessary and urgent to find ways to unlock the value of defunct assets.” A meeting of central bank governors will be held this week.
“I believe there is a strong international legal, economic and moral basis for moving forward. This will be a decisive response to Russia's unprecedented threat to global stability,” she said. said.
The United States and its allies have frozen hundreds of billions of dollars in Russian assets held abroad in retaliation for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. As the war rages into its third year, these billions of dollars are sitting untapped, with officials from multiple countries debating the legality of the transfers to Ukraine. More than two-thirds of Russia's stranded central bank funds are in the EU.
Yellen said using the assets to support Ukraine would “make it clear that Russia will not win by prolonging the war and encourage Russia to come to the table for fair peace negotiations with Ukraine.” said.
The idea of tapping into Russia's frozen assets has recently gained traction as the ally's continued funding for Ukraine becomes more uncertain and the U.S. Congress is deadlocked over providing further aid. There is. But there is also a trade-off, as the weaponization of global finance could undermine the US dollar's status as the world's dominant currency.
Yellen said on Tuesday that it was “extremely unlikely” that the use of frozen funds would undermine the dollar's place in the global economy, especially given the uniqueness of the situation, in which Russia is brazenly violating international norms. Realistically, there is no alternative to the dollar, euro or yen,” Yellen said.
President Joe Biden's national security spokesman, John Kirby, said at a White House press briefing on Tuesday that “Russia will be held responsible” for the damage caused to Ukraine by “exploring options to use frozen assets.” “I still believe that we need to bear the burden,” he said.
He said spending the stuck money “still requires further legislative authority from Congress” and “we need our coalition partners to work with us.”
A bipartisan bill circulating in Washington called the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainian People Act would use assets confiscated from the Russian central bank and other Ukrainian state assets. Become. Leading lawmakers tried to add it to an early spending bill for Ukraine, but it has not moved forward since then.
Earlier this month, the European Union passed a law to set aside windfall profits from freezing Russian central bank assets. Yellen called it “an action that I fully support.”
Brazil began its role as chairman of the Group of 20 (G20) this month, with a meeting of finance ministers held this week. Topics of discussion include poverty alleviation, climate change, and the wars in the Gaza Strip and Ukraine. G20 leaders are scheduled to meet for a summit in Rio on November 18-19.
__
Associated Press writers Josh Boak and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.
