Blinken Signals Intention To Seize Frozen Russia Sovereign Assets

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking at Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, says that allies of Ukraine should "make Russia pay for Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction," adding: "What Putin destroyed, Russia should and must pay to rebuild. It's what international law demands. It's what the Ukrainian people deserve."

• Blinken: "Our Congress has given us the power to seize Russian assets in the United States. We intend to use it. We're working with our G7 partners to see that Russia's immobilised sovereign assets are used to remedy the damage that Putin continues to cause. The G7 can unlock billions of dollars and send a powerful message to Putin that time is not on his side."
• NYT notes that, due to objections from France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan and Saudi Arabia, as well ECB president Christine Lagarde, the idea of confiscation of assets, "appears dead for now."
• The Times notes the EU is expected to approve a plan next week on using the interest accrued on the roughly 190 billion euros of assets held by Euroclear in Belgium to arm Ukraine and fund reconstruction: "Last week, they agreed in principle that they would be willing to use 90 percent of the profits to buy arms for Ukraine through the European Peace Facility...."
• Blinken's comments suggest that Washington will pursue a more hawkish plan to seize the estimated USD$5 billion in Russian assets frozen in the US.