Yellen: We must be careful with Russian asset seizures not to hit Belgian financial system Euroclear

The United States and its allies will continue to look for options to use frozen Russian assets, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in an interview with Reuters on Thursday.

After several days of tense negotiations on the sidelines of the G20 finance ministers' meeting in Brazil, Western powers failed to reach a deal to help Ukraine.

Yellen said that any action must have a clear legal basis, adding that she has asked her French counterpart Bruno Le Maire to help develop options for the use of Russian assets that are acceptable to the G7.

Yellen noted that although some European officials are sceptical about asset seizures, there are options, such as using them as collateral for loans.

According to her, the G7 leaders have asked their staff to propose as many realistic options as possible and analyse both their positive and negative aspects.

The decision on what to do – to act or not to act – is up to them, the US Treasury Secretary said, adding that it is unclear whether the G7 leaders will find a solution at the June summit in Italy.

We need to be extremely careful not to jeopardise the functioning of the Belgian Euroclear, which holds most of the Russian assets, Yellen said.

Background. Earlier it was reported that the EU will use the proceeds from the frozen assets of the Russian Federation to purchase weapons for Ukraine, said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. She stressed that there is "no more appropriate use for this money".