Officials from the United States and Europe are in disagreement over the usage of the seized Russian assets that amount to more than $300 billion over its war on Ukraine.
World economic officials are arguing about how to use the funds to support Ukraine, and the issue spilled into public view on Wednesday. This was when France's finance minister, Bruno LeMaire, said that seizing the frozen assets would violate international law.
Seizing Frozen Russian Assets
The official's comments were made on the sidelines of the gathering of finance ministers of the Group of 20 (G20) nations in Brazil. His statement also came a day after United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that seizing the Russian assets was a possibility and suggested that there was a legal justification for doing so.
On the other hand, officials from the Group 7 (G7) advanced economies have for months debated over whether or not they could legally seize the funds and use the money to aid Ukraine, as per the New York Times.
The talks have taken on even greater urgency as waning political support is seen in the United States and Europe to continue to provide Ukraine with economic and military support. Yellen initially had reservations about the viability of freezing or seizing the billions of dollars in assets.
She also offered her most explicit public support on Tuesday in favor of the idea of unlocking "the value" of Russia's immobilized assets. She said the world needs to unite, adding that she believes there is a "strong international law, economic and moral case for moving forward."
On the other hand, LeMaire pushed back on Yellen's assertion a few hours ahead of a private meeting with the U.S. treasury secretary. He added that there was no legal basis to seize the Russian assets. He argued that no action should be taken if they do not obey international law and the rule of law.
Funding Ukraine's Defense Against Russia
Lawyers are scrambling to find routes by which Russia's assets can be tapped legally in support of Ukraine. The plans involve transferring the claim for reparations from Ukraine to the West and offsetting it against the Russian assets. However, according to the Economist, even the most clever ideas are fraught with legal and political risks.
The political divide comes even as Brazilian officials who are hosting the two-day meeting in Sao Paulo sought to focus the discussions on economic cooperation. They were looking to tackle issues such as climate change and poverty. The officials proposed a joint statement to avoid direct mention of the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.
However, the geopolitical issues hanging over the event soon spilled into the talks, putting even close allies against each other over differing views on a potential solution. The disagreement between LeMaire and Yellen underscored a complex geopolitical situation for the G20 group of major world economies.
Tatiana Rosito, Brazil's coordinator of the G20 finance event, said that deputy ministers successfully completed negotiations for the economic portion of the group's communique in what she called a "very positive" atmosphere said Reuters.
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