Grabbing $300 billion of Russian assets is no panacea, West cautions in Davos
DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Western officials said in Davos on Wednesday they were open to the idea of confiscating $300 billion of Russian assets to help Ukraine, but cautioned that the devil was in the legal detail and that, even if it could be done, it would be no panacea for Kyiv.
After 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 around $300 billion of sovereign Russian assets in the West.
G7 countries are discussing possibly confiscating the frozen Russian assets, though some G7 members have concerns about the precedent, mechanism and potential impact of taking such a step against central bank assets.
"The first thing you know is a ton of lawyers need to get involved. No decisions been made," Penny Pritzker, U.S. special representative for Ukraine's economic recovery, told a panel on Monday.
