Wednesday, May 18, 2022

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen: Seizing Russian Assets To Rebuild Ukraine Illegal 'Now'

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen testifies during a U.S. House Committee on Financial Services hearing on the Annual Report of the Financial Stability Oversight Council, on Capitol Hill in Washington  

Reuters: Yellen: Not legal for U.S. to seize Russian official assets 

BONN, Germany (Reuters) -The United States does not have legal authority to seize Russian central bank assets frozen due to its invasion of Ukraine, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Wednesday, but talks with U.S. partners over ways to make Russia foot the bill for Ukraine's post-war reconstruction are underway. 

Yellen also said it is likely that the special license granted to allow Russia to make payments to its U.S. bondholders would not be extended when it expires next week, leaving Russian officials a fast-narrowing window to avoid its first external debt default since the Russian revolution.  

Read more ...  

Update #1: Janet Yellen says 'it would not be legal now' for the US to seize Russian government assets to pay for Ukraine reconstruction (Business Insider)  

Update #2: Seizing Russian assets to rebuild Ukraine illegal – US (RT) 

WNU Editor: US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was very careful in what she said. She said "it would not be legal now", meaning it may become legal in the future. My gut tells me that the decision to not return these seize assets has already been made, regardless on what happens in Ukraine or in Russia, and what Yellen said today was to not escalate the current tensions between the US and Russia.

No comments: