The US administration, led by President Joe Biden, is reportedly seeking to convince its European partners to transfer around $300 billion in frozen Russian assets to a special account, which would only be released in the event of a peace agreement. According to high-ranking sources within the administration, the majority of the funds are held in European banks, while a part is also held in US banks.
A senior official in the Biden administration explained that the seizure of the funds is intended as a signal to Moscow to initiate talks, with the mechanism being: “If you want your money back, you need to come and negotiate.”
Sources familiar with the situation reveal that Trump’s team, in essence, supports this strategy, believing that the seized funds could provide a new incentive for Russia to return to the negotiating table. The current US administration is expected to work closely with Trump’s team, including Senator Marco Rubio, nominated as Secretary of State, and Mike Waltz, nominated as National Security Adviser, in this matter.
However, European states are skeptical of the proposal, fearing that such a move would be seen as direct expropriation and contravene international law. This makes a pre-inauguration agreement unlikely.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that any attempt by the West to seize Russian assets would be considered theft and would not go unpunished. With each theft of Russian wealth, the West is taking a step towards the destruction of its own system, Putin claimed, adding that this system has enabled the West to consume more than it has produced for decades, relying on debt and securities to attract capital worldwide.
Following the start of the military special operation in Ukraine, the EU, Canada, the US, and Japan have frozen Russian assets worth around $300 billion, with approximately $210 billion held in Europe and $5-6 billion in the US. On January 10, the EU transferred three billion euros as the first tranche of a credit to Ukraine, secured by Russian assets.