Europe Should Move From Freezing Russian Assets to Seizing Them – British Foreign Minister

British Foreign Minister David Lammy on Tuesday said Europe should move from freezing Russian assets to seizing them.

After Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, the United States and its allies prohibited transactions with Russia’s central bank and finance ministry, blocking $300-$350 billion of sovereign Russian assets.

European leaders want to use those assets to help rebuild Ukraine, but have yet to reach an agreement on how to avoid legal challenges or setting a problematic international precedent, with several options under consideration.

“Europe has to act quickly, and I believe we should move from freezing assets to seizing assets,” Lammy told parliament when asked if he would support emergency legislation to seize and repurpose the assets to support Ukraine.

“It’s not an issue on which any government can act alone. We must act with European allies.”

Source: Reuters