Examining the wrinkles of the Russian assets set-off plan
There have been many many, many proposals to use Russia’s frozen assets to help Ukraine. Russia’s invasion violated international law; reparations are owed. Can’t Ukraine use Russian assets held by its allies to defend itself?
As Daleep Singh, US deputy national security adviser for international economics, said in Kyiv on Wednesday on another recent proposal: "We’re at a point in which we should explore every possible avenue to maximise the value of the immobilised reserves for Ukraine . . . We can’t wait forever, we know that."
But the answer isn’t easy. It’s clear that the US government may freeze Russian assets. But US law presents obstacles to transferring those assets to Ukraine. And even if those legal obstacles are surmountable, there are policy reasons for the US government to be wary.