US rejects EU plan to seize Russian assets for Ukraine

The United States declined to support a European Union proposal to use frozen Russian assets as collateral for loans to Ukraine, and Bloomberg reported the decision on Monday. American officials informed their European counterparts at the International Monetary Fund gathering in Washington last week that market stability concerns prevented their participation. The EU sought broader backing from G7 nations for a reparations loan worth up to 140 billion euros that would use roughly 200 billion euros in frozen Russian funds held by Euroclear as security.

Western governments froze approximately 300 billion dollars in Russian assets after the conflict escalated in February 2022, and they have already tapped interest from those holdings to fund Ukraine. Germany, France, and several Eastern European countries backed the plan, but Belgium resisted unless all member states shared liability. Moscow condemned any use of its assets as theft, and International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde warned the move could damage confidence in European financial markets.