The New York Times reported the administration of US President Joe Biden is now showing favor in seizing over $300 billion in assets the Russian central bank has set aside in Western financial institutions.
The US administration has also commenced urgent talks with its allies about utilizing these funds to support Ukraine’s war effort during a period when financial support for the proxy war is running short.
Until recently, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had voiced legal reservations about seizing Russian assets, insisting that without action by Congress, seizing the funds was “not something that is legally permissible in the United States.”
There has also been concern among some top American officials that nations around the world would hesitate to keep their funds at the New York Federal Reserve, or in dollars if the US established a precedent for seizing the assets.
The Biden administration, however, in coordination with the Group of 7 industrial nations, has begun devising a new stance on the matter and whether the administration can use the existing laws, or whether it should gain congressional approval to take possession of the Russian assets. Pressure for adopting the new viewpoint has been gaining mounting support in Congress, giving the Biden administration optimism that it could soon be granted the necessary authority.
Officials said the talks among finance ministers, central bankers, diplomats and lawyers were gaining momentum recently.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration is pressing Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, and Japan to devise a new strategy to fund the US-led war against Russia by Feb. 24, the second anniversary of the kick-off of Russia’s special military operation in Donbas.
MP/PressTV
