The Belgian government has proposed a plan to the Group of Seven (G7) countries in which frozen Russian assets will be used to benefit Ukraine.
sauce: European Pravda, see Financial Times
detail: The Belgian plan envisages that Ukraine’s allies would raise debt to raise funds and “move to force Russia to pay for the invasion, using Russian assets as a backstop for repayment.” FT wrote.
The coalition backing Ukraine will demand that Russia repay its debts and if it fails to do so it will instead seize frozen Russian state assets, officials familiar with the talks told the FT.
The plan is intended to allow the G7 to raise funds for Ukraine without immediately resolving legal issues surrounding the basis for other countries’ seizure of Russian state assets.
“One of the consequences of this is that it postpones the question of what happens to Russian state assets, even if they are used as collateral,” a source familiar with the negotiations told the FT.
An anonymous official said that Belgium proposed this plan to increase debt on Russian assets in order to find a compromise between the US position and that of Ukraine’s European allies.
“Using assets as collateral to raise debt is an attempt to find a compromise between the different perspectives around the table, both within and within the EU.” […] G7,” the official said.
background:
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At a meeting on January 29, the permanent representatives of EU countries agreed to create a separate account into which interest from taxable profits from freezing Russian assets would be transferred.
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In early January, EU foreign ministers reached a political agreement on a plan to use Russian assets to support Ukraine.
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However, many EU member states oppose the confiscation of these assets, citing legal difficulties. A compromise solution is to tax the income of these frozen assets and transfer these funds to Ukraine.
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Meanwhile, the United States is promoting the idea of confiscation of frozen assets. Last week, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives profile committees adopted legislation aimed at creating conditions for the confiscation of Russian assets and their transfer to Ukraine to help rebuild the country.
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