The confiscation of Russian assets in the United States and Europe could create problems for the global economy. Journalist Patricia Cohen wrote about this on March 24 in an article for the newspaper The New York Times (NYT).
In the publication, referring to US officials, she notes that the confiscation of assets could create a dangerous precedent, so Western countries do not respond to calls from Eastern European states to transfer Russian assets to the Ukrainian side.
The article emphasizes that the confiscation of assets can undermine confidence in the system of international laws. In addition, foreign countries will lose the desire to keep money in US banks or invest in Western economies, knowing the potential risk of seizing funds.
“At the same time, <…> such a move could expose American and European assets located in other jurisdictions to a higher risk of expropriation in the future,” Cohen said.
In addition, it is noted that the West is already experiencing difficulties in providing financial support to Kyiv. Also, the countries, as the journalist writes, are beginning to realize that after the end of hostilities, the restoration of Ukraine may cost such an amount that the allies cannot provide.
However, in February, Daphne Rand, director of the State Department’s Office of Foreign Assistance, said that the United States would continue to seize Russian assets and was already planning how to use them to help Ukraine.
At the same time, Alexei Chepa, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, admitted that the West wants to expropriate Russian assets, and not transfer them to Ukraine.
Sanctions pressure on Russia was intensified after the start of a special military operation to protect the population of Donbass on February 24, 2022. Soon, the European Union approved a decision to freeze the assets of the Central Bank, the total amount is about $ 300 billion.
In March 2023, it was reported that the United States and its allies had frozen more than $58 billion in assets of sanctioned Russians in a year.
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