“Republicans are asking Trump to hand over frozen Russian assets to the US in support of Ukraine.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Source: letter at the disposal of “European Pravda”
Details: The letters were signed by Republican Senators Jim Risch, Roger Wicker, John F. Kennedy and Rick Scott.
“We appeal to you to use the powers granted to you under the Restoration of Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainians (REPO) Act and, in coordination with the G7 and European allies, transfer to Ukraine the full amount of Russian sovereign assets frozen or immobilized in the United States,” the letter reads.
The senators write that such a step will allow to unblock the decision on the use of “162 billion dollars of immobilized Russian sovereign assets in the European Union.”
“After confiscation, these funds from Europe will be used to purchase weapons from American manufacturers for supply to Ukraine. This is a profitable deal for America; it will bring orders that will help accelerate the development of our domestic defense industry and ensure Ukraine’s ability to defend itself in the near future,” the Republican congressmen explained.
They call on Trump to instruct Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant “to take immediate action to seize approximately $5 billion in Russian sovereign assets currently frozen in the United States.”
“Even if peace is achieved, Ukraine will need to modernize its armed forces, and the use of these assets will provide Ukraine with the ability to reliably defend itself in the coming years, while opening access to more than $81 billion in new European investment in the US defense industry,” the letter said.
According to the Bloomberg agency, the USA conducted lobbying in several countries of the European Union, trying to block the EU’s plans to use the frozen assets of the Russian Federation to secure a loan to Ukraine.
Negotiations on the mechanism of using Russian assets for financial assistance to Ukraine are ongoing within the framework of the European Union summit, and there are cautious estimates that the contours of the agreement will be agreed upon by Friday morning.