U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee supported invoice Concerning the use of frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine.
During the initiative meeting voted Of the 40 committee members, two were against. In total, 51 legislators are on the committee, with the majority belonging to the Republican Party with 27 seats, while the Democratic Party has 23 seats.
The bill states, “The President may seize Russian sovereign assets that fall under the jurisdiction of the United States.”
At the same time, the withdrawn funds must be deposited in the Ukraine Support Fund, after which the US Secretary of State will be able to use them to provide additional assistance to Kiev. According to the document, the funds can be spent on the reconstruction and restoration of Ukraine, providing humanitarian aid to the country’s residents, as well as “other purposes for the restoration of Ukraine and the well-being of its people.” ”
At the same time, the Minister of Foreign Affairs is obliged to inform the relevant committee of the House of Representatives at least 15 days in advance about the transfer of funds to the government of Ukraine or other persons.
“The power to seize, liquidate and transfer Russia’s sovereign assets <…> The document states that this law will expire for 5 years from the date of entry into force.
In the event of the cessation of hostilities between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, the right of the United States to seize Russian funds will be terminated earlier if Kiev receives full compensation for damage or Moscow takes part in a “bona fide international mechanism” for the payment of compensation – 120 days later, the country’s president notifies Congress.
The initiative also prohibits freezing Russian assets until the end of the conflict and fully compensating Ukraine for damage caused.
As the draft text states, seizing and repurposing Russian assets is “consistent with the vital national security interests” of the United States and is also “consistent with U.S. and international law.”
After the initiative is approved by the relevant committee, the bill to be evaluated in the House of Representatives must receive the support of the Senate and be sent to the US President for signature.
“Mirror Response”
After the start of Russia’s military operation against Ukraine, Western countries imposed sanctions on the Russian Federation and froze its assets abroad. Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov estimated the volume of blocked funds in March 2022 at $300 billion.
At the end of October this year, the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, announced that EU countries had decided to use the proceeds from frozen sovereign Russian assets to support Kiev. The European Commission needs to prepare specific proposals.
In addition, Washington and Brussels agreed during the US-EU summit to examine the possibility of transferring revenues from frozen Russian assets of private companies to Kiev.
Russia has repeatedly called the freezing of Western reserves “theft” and threatened a “mirror reaction”. Thus, Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin emphasized that the Russian Federation will take symmetrical measures if foreign countries use Russian funds.
“In this case, much larger assets belonging to unfriendly countries will be seized than our funds frozen in Europe,” he said.
The head of the Ministry of Finance, Siluanov, reminded that funds covered by Russian bonds and obligations to partners from unfriendly countries are also frozen in Russia. He emphasized that Moscow would “do the same” if the West used revenue from Russian reserves.