US explores alternative Ukraine aid; Germany balks at asset seizure
12 April 2024 12:31
House Speaker Mike Johnson from the Republican Party stated that Congress may support an alternative aid package for Ukraine based on the confiscation of Russian assets frozen due to sanctions. However, Germany is said to be blocking this action.
A comprehensive aid package for Ukraine still awaits a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives. It is being blocked by Republicans, who have clarified that their decision was influenced by former President Donald Trump, who urged its rejection.
President Joe Biden's administration has repeatedly approached House Speaker Mike Johnson to allow a vote on a combined financial package that would assist Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. However, he has refused so far - reported "Bloomberg".
On Saturday, the speaker declared that Congress might vote on an alternative aid package for Ukraine next week based on loans and the confiscation of Russian assets frozen under sanctions. According to various estimates, the frozen Russian assets in U.S. jurisdiction are only worth about £4-5.5 billion, insufficient to cover even half the planned expenses. Most of the nearly £230 billion in frozen funds are in Europe.
The head of British diplomacy, David Cameron, reported on Tuesday that during talks with the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, they made "good progress on how to access Russian funds" frozen by the USA and Europe to allocate them for support to Ukraine. He added that he hoped that the G7 countries would soon be able to decide on this matter.
Germany fears Russian retaliation
Western countries have long discussed using frozen Russian assets—worth about £230 billion—but, according to reports, the largest European countries have so far resisted confiscating the funds.
In the meantime, Germany does not favor this course of action - reports "Die Welt," as referred to by "Onet." Berlin reportedly fears a response from Russia. After seizing Russian assets, Moscow could retaliate by seizing German companies' assets, causing enormous economic losses.
According to "Die Welt," it is unclear how small German company assets frozen in Russian accounts amount to, as the German Finance Ministry indicated that it does not have such information - reports "Onet." Ria Novosti, a Russian news agency, estimated that the total assets of Western companies in Russia amount to £226 billion.
