US Senators Urge Trump Administration to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Pressure Moscow

Reuters reports this, Ukrinform reports.

“How does the administration view the possibility of using all of its available financial resources to increase pressure on Russia to end the war?” the senators asked in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio seen by Reuters on Monday.

“In particular, does the administration believe that U.S. and EU assets should be used as leverage in negotiations with Russia to end the war? If so, how?” the letter asked.

In their letter, the senators asked whether the administration would develop a strategy to encourage the EU, the G7, and other allies to use Russian sovereign assets. They also asked whether the administration would support Ukraine in using Russian sovereign assets under U.S. control to purchase defense equipment.

Read also: EU exploring ways to fill funding gaps as USAID aid cuts in Ukraine – Dombrovskis

The letter was signed by Republicans Todd Young and Lindsey Graham, and Democrats Richard Blumenthal and Tim Kaine.

Members of the U.S. Congress have for years called for using confiscated Russian assets to rebuild Ukraine, to avoid further American taxpayer costs for the conflict and to put pressure on Moscow to reach a peace agreement.

After Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, the United States and its allies banned transactions with Russia's Central Bank and Finance Ministry, freezing $300 billion to $350 billion in sovereign Russian assets.

These are mostly bonds of European, US and UK governments, stored in the European Securities Depository. Sources said that only about $7 billion is stored in US financial institutions.

EU and US officials have agreed to use windfall interest from frozen Russian assets to finance loans to Ukraine, but not the assets themselves.

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