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The United States has proposed to European nations that a portion of Russian assets be unfrozen and placed under Washington’s supervision to induce Russia to resume peace negotiations regarding Ukraine, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. European officials rejected the proposal.
According to four of the newspaper’s sources, the idea was presented last week during talks in Miami involving representatives from the US, Ukraine, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the EU, and NATO. The proposal was put forward by US President Donald Trump’s special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
As reported by the FT, the Americans suggested several ways to unfreeze the assets, including transferring them to a special fund overseen by Washington. According to a US official, the mechanisms for releasing the funds and their allocation remain an element of discussions regarding a comprehensive peace agreement.
However, European participants in the meeting opposed both the transfer of control over the assets to the US and the return of any portion of them to Russia, the British newspaper reported.
Following the launch of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Western nations froze approximately €260 billion in Russian state assets, primarily in the EU. Proceeds from these funds were used to finance a €45 billion G7 loan for Ukraine. EU leaders have announced that the assets themselves will be used for the reconstruction of Ukraine if Russia does not pay war reparations. Their unfreezing would require the unanimous consent of all member states.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated on Wednesday that Russia will take all possible legal action to recover its assets.