The next step by the G7 is to “further reduce Russia’s energy revenues,” such as imposing the oil price cap, and taking “further enforcement actions” to respond to alleged oil price cap violations.
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba at a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G7 Foreign Ministers meeting in Italy, April 18, 2024. (AP)
In a statement after meeting on April 17-18 on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings in Washington, DC, the G7 finance ministers and central bank governors stated their determination to keep Russia’s assets frozen until it pays Ukraine war reparations.
“We reaffirm our determination to ensure that Russia pays for the damage it has caused to Ukraine. Russia’s sovereign assets in our jurisdictions will remain immobilized until then, consistent with our respective legal systems,” the G7 officials said.
The European Union’s proposals to direct windfall profits from Russia’s frozen assets for Ukraine has been welcomed by the G7, in addition to initiatives by the UK and the US to stop the trade of new Russian metals on their global metal exchanges.
“We will continue working on all possible avenues by which immobilized Russian sovereign assets could be made use of to support Ukraine, consistent with international law and our respective legal systems, with a view to update our Leaders ahead of the Apulia Summit in June,” the statement noted.
Seizing reserves and transferring them to Ukraine
It continued that the next step by the G7 would be to “further reduce Russia’s energy revenues,” such as imposing the oil price cap, and taking “further enforcement actions” to respond to alleged oil price cap violations.
Read more: G7 leaders pledge more Russia sanctions on 2nd Ukraine war anniversary
“We remain committed to implementing and enforcing further financial and economic sanctions and to countering attempts to evade or circumvent our measures, including by taking action against third-country actors who seek to undermine them, where appropriate,” the statement said.
Developing measures to “prevent Russia from acquiring advanced materials, technology, and equipment for its military-industrial base” is also part of the plan, according to the statement.
Washington has supported the notion of seizing the reserves and transferring them over to Ukraine, which European officials believe would violate international law and disrupt financial markets. EU nations would want to simply give Kiev the income from the underlying assets.
Moscow reminds West that it also has assets in Russia
Russia has previously warned the EU and the US against seizing assets.
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov warned in February in an interview with RIA Novosti that if the West applies its threats to Russia and confiscates Russian assets blocked abroad, Russia’s response will not be nice. He stressed that the West also has assets in Russia that could be endangered if the latter’s funds are used.
“This is not a question for us, we are following the decisions of Western countries,” Siluanov emphasized then added “We have frozen no less [of Western funds]. Any actions with our assets will receive a symmetrical response.”
The IMF cautioned as well that Western plans to seize frozen Russian assets could pose a threat to the global monetary system and entail unforeseen risks.
“From our perspective, it is important that any actions have sufficient legal underpinnings to avoid potential risks, and these include risks of litigation, risks of countermeasures, and risks to the international monetary system,” IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack told reporters.