Seized Russian money should be used to rebuild Ukraine - American experts

According to Lawrence Summers, the US Secretary of the Treasury in 1999-2001, Ukraine's reconstruction and creation of its powerful economic potential should be funded by Russian assets that are currently frozen in Western countries.

"History teaches us that it is important not only to win the war, but also to win the peace. We all agree on the importance of winning the war and securing a peace that would last and make Ukraine stable for many years to come. The centerpiece of winning peace is the creation of an economically strong and viable Ukraine that is closely linked to Europe," said Lawrence, who is President Emeritus and Professor of Economics at Harvard University.

The Marshall Plan, according to the economist, is the most successful plan that the United States has ever formulated in its foreign policy.

According to Lawrence Summers, success in the security sphere is also impossible to achieve without injections of hundreds of billions of dollars.

"The resources for this should come from frozen Russian assets, and this process should begin as soon as possible. What are the advantages of using Russian resources? They are available and in an affordable amount," he said.

All Russian assets seized abroad should be used to rebuild Ukraine: this opinion was expressed by Steven Rademaker, the US Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation in 2005-06.

"Canada has already taken this leadership role by passing a law that allows Russian assets located in Canada to be used for these purposes. The United States can do the same. But most of the Russian money is in Europe. So I think the Americans should follow Canada's example, and then Europe will follow the example of Canada and the United States," he said.

According to Stephen Radmaker, there is no doubt that under international law, Russia is responsible to Ukraine for the enormous damage caused by its illegal military aggression and must compensate for the corresponding losses.

He recalled that the latest example of colossal aggression in the world was Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.

"And Iraq has borne financial responsibility - it has paid compensation to all those who suffered in Kuwait for 30 years. This compensation was paid from Iraqi oil revenues. Russia is a major oil exporter and its oil revenues can also be a source of compensation (to Ukraine - ed.) in the coming years," the expert believes.

Steven Rademaker also noted that the World Bank estimates that by February 2023, Russia had caused USD 411 billion in damage to Ukraine. "But since then, this amount has increased. So, in theory, Russia should write Ukraine a check for at least USD 400 billion," he said, admitting that it is unlikely that the aggressor state will take such a step.

At the same time, the expert is convinced that there are legal mechanisms that will allow the international community to use Russian assets seized abroad to restore Ukraine.

A special event of the Kyiv Security Forum Top of Mind: Frontline and Recovery with the participation of General David Petraeus, Commander of the US Central Command in 2008-10 and Director of the CIA in 2011-12, took place on September 5 and brought together top American economists and Ukrainian representatives.  

Espreso is the media partner of the event.

The Kyiv Security Forum was founded by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Open Ukraine Foundation as a platform for discussing issues of war and peace, national and global security.