US cannot unilaterally transfer Russian assets to Ukraine – international expert Osypenko

He expressed his opinion on Espreso TV. 

“Let's be honest and admit that there are no clear mechanisms for transferring frozen assets to Russia. Even the joint statement of the G7 says that they will force Russia to compensate Ukraine for losses, but not to hand over all frozen Russian assets,” Osypenko explained.

The expert emphasized that there are a number of reasons why the United States cannot transfer Russian frozen assets to Ukraine.

“The United States cannot unilaterally transfer Russian frozen assets to Ukraine. They cannot do this for many reasons. Firstly, if they set such a precedent, they would be calling into question the basic tenets of protecting private property. And they are the main driving force that protects this right. Secondly, the US holds assets of many countries, and if the assets are transferred to Russia, Washington may lose the right to hold the finances of other countries,” he added.

• On May 11, the European Commission confirmed that it had developed legally acceptable options for using Russian assets, both private and state-owned, to rebuild Ukraine.

• On May 24, US congressmen led by Adam Schiff and Brian Fitzpatrick called on President Joe Biden to hand over to Kyiv the assets of the Russian central bank frozen under sanctions.