Page 30 - bneIntelliNews monthly country report Russia May 2024

even now. In 2019, Greece demanded more than $300B in compensation, while Poland demanded $1.3T in 2022. In addition, Germany also proposes to use the frozen Russian assets as a lever of influence on Russia to force it to relinquish the occupied territories to Ukraine in the event of peace negotiations. However, experts believe that Berlin’s motivation is to protect 272 German companies that are still operating in the Russian Federation and that Germany's concerns over setting a precedent for war reparations are unfounded. At the same time, official representatives of the Russian Federation threaten severe responses, "an eye for an eye," should the West confiscate Russian assets, noting that "the Russian Federation still has a lot of Western money that can become a target for Moscow's countermeasures."
US House approves bill to transfer seised Russian assets to Ukraine. The U.S. House of Representatives on April 20 passed a bill that would allow the seizure and transfer of frozen Russian assets held in the U.S. to Ukraine.
G7 considers using frozen Russian assets as collateral for Ukraine loans.
The Group of Seven (G7) countries are discussing using frozen Russian assets as collateral to provide loans to Ukraine, Reuters reported on April 18, citing European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis.
The G7 did not come to an agreement on the mechanism for transferring the Russian Federation’s frozen assets to Ukraine. At a meeting in Washington, finance ministers of the G7 countries could not agree on ways to use the Russian assets to support Ukraine, writes Reuters. After an inconclusive debate, the G7 ministers said: “We reaffirm our determination to ensure that Russia pays for the damage it has caused to Ukraine. Until then, the sovereign assets of the Russian Federation in our jurisdictions will remain immobilised. We will continue to work on all possible ways by which the frozen Russian assets can be used to support Ukraine in accordance with international law and our legal systems.” Certain decisions are expected to be made before the summit of G7 leaders in Apulia (Italy) in June. Previously, Washington supported fully confiscating €260B in assets and their transfer to Ukraine. However, the EU countries propose to give Kyiv only the profit obtained from basic assets. However, Ukraine urgently needs more money, as additional US aid is delayed in Congress.
The head of the ECB criticises the US’ plans regarding the frozen assets of the Russian Federation. The President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, spoke critically of the idea to use more than €260B in frozen Russian assets to finance military aid to Ukraine. She warned about the legal risks of violating international law. As the FT points out, Lagarde's position indicates a transatlantic split on this topic. "I've seen four different schemes or proposals to get around what many lawyers or advocates see as a very serious legal hurdle that can be seen as a violation of the international legal order. Going from freezing assets to confiscating them to disposing of them is what's needed to consider very carefully," Lagarde said. After an inconclusive debate on April 17, the G7 said: "We reaffirm our determination to make Russia pay for the damage it has done to Ukraine. Russian sovereign assets in our jurisdictions will remain frozen for as long as possible." Lagarde said she had "no doubt" that Russia should pay for the restoration of Ukraine.
30 RUSSIA Country Report May 2024 www.intellinews.com