Kallas urges transferring frozen assets of Russia to Ukraine: It is morally and legally correct
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that it is necessary to use frozen Russian assets in favor of Ukraine, as it is "morally and legally correct". On her X (formerly Twitter) account, she emphasized the importance of using these assets to rebuild damaged and destroyed infrastructure as a result of Russia's military aggression.
According to Kallas, the use of frozen Russian assets will help Ukraine rebuild and restore its economy.
"We need to press ahead with using Russia's frozen assets for Ukraine. It is an international legal norm that the aggressor must compensate for damages," she said, noting that this is not only morally but also legally correct.
At most, she emphasized that such a policy would make the world safer because, she believes, "countries see and believe that they cannot try to conquer their neighbours without losing access to their global reserves."
"Glad my calls are being met with steps forward not only within the EU but also among the G7, including the U.S. Congress and the UK," she added.
On October 28, 2023, EU leaders approved a plan to use billions of euros in proceeds from frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine.
January 15 US Special Representative Pritzker says in Davos that the confiscation of frozen Russian assets will require a collective decision by all countries with such assets and will not happen "very quickly."
On January 17, British Foreign Secretary Cameron says that there are three arguments for the frozen Russian assets and their use to help Ukraine: legal, moral, and political.
On January 23, it became known that the EU plans to impose a tax on excess profits from the frozen assets of the Central Bank of Russia, but without confiscating the funds. A group of countries, including Germany, made it clear that they were against the seizure of Russian assets for legal reasons, the newspaper reported, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter.
However, on January 29, EU ambassadors reached a "principled" agreement to use the proceeds of frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine.
Read also: Ukraine may face an 'economic doomsday' without Western financial aid – Politico