Adeyemo: Working Towards Unlocking Russian Sov. Assets To Aid UKR

Wires carrying comments from US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo stating that the G7 is, "working towards unlocking value of Russian sovereign assets to aid Ukraine," describing the discussions as a "work in progress."

• Adeyemo conveyed a similar message at a meeting today with counterparts from Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
• According to a Treasury Department readout, the group, "discussed ways to continue providing near-term financial assistance to Ukraine, as well as ways to unlock the value of immobilized Russian sovereign assets to support Ukraine’s continued resistance and long-term reconstruction."
• Treasury notes the group also discussed, "the role China plays in supplying Russia’s military industrial complex" and Adeyemo noted the "leadership of these countries on implementing multilateral sanctions, especially the price cap on Russia’s oil."
• US House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is shortly due to release final text of a package of bills to fund Ukraine which will includes the REPO Act, "legislation to provide additional assistance to Ukraine using assets confiscated from the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and other sovereign assets of the Russian Federation."
• However, as the majority of assets are frozen in Belgium, any high-value seizure of assets needs EU buy-in and likely to face robust opposition from less hawkish EU member states.
• The NYT notes: "The very act of seizing Russian assets would pose dangers to the U.S. economy, because other countries, not just Russia, would view it as an act of brigandage. This could weaken the dollar’s status as the main global reserve currency."