British MPs call for transfer of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine
Illustrative photo: British MPs called for the transfer of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
British parliamentarians have written a letter calling on the government to develop a legal mechanism for transferring $300 billion of frozen reserves from Russia's Central Bank to Ukraine, The Times reports.
The letter, which was sent to the Times, was signed by a dozen British MPs, as well as politicians from Germany, Poland, and the Baltic states.
The authors of the letter believe that transferring at least 25.5 billion pounds ($3.19 billion) of the funds held in Britain's account to Ukraine would send a clear signal of strategic resolve and help prevent future conflicts.
The parliamentarians stated that previous loans and emergency funding were not enough and that only the use of the assets themselves would ensure that Russia paid for its crimes. They explained that Russia's military economy was stretched to the limit and that, therefore, the seizure of foreign assets of the invader was of strategic importance. They emphasized that it was legal and would not harm financial stability.
Frozen assets of Russia
At the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv's Western allies froze the assets of the Central Bank of Russia worth about $300 billion.
At the end of January, EU ambassadors agreed to use the profits from the frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine.
At the same time, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen suggested using the profits from Russian assets to buy weapons for Ukraine.
According to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, the United States will provide Ukraine with $15 billion, which will be secured by future income from frozen Russian assets.
