US proposes unfreezing Russian assets for Ukraine peace – FT

The overture “startled” Kiev’s European backers, who refused to cede control over funds Moscow considers “stolen,” the paper says

The US has proposed unfreezing billions of euros in Russian assets held in the EU to give impetus to Ukraine peace talks, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing sources. Moscow has long described the freezing of its assets as “theft” while warning of significant retaliation if the funds are seized.

The proposal was raised last week during negotiations in Miami involving President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, and officials from Ukraine, France, Germany, Britain, the EU, and NATO, four people familiar with the matter told the paper.

Washington reportedly floated several mechanisms for releasing the frozen funds as part of a comprehensive peace deal, including transferring some of them into a special-purpose vehicle overseen by the US. However, the exact arrangements have not been finalized, with numerous ideas about how the funds could be used being discussed, the FT said.

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During the talks, Washington asked Kiev to present proposals for spending potential reconstruction funds and to work with the World Bank on tackling rampant corruption and introducing financial accountability measures, a US official told the paper.

Kiev’s European backers, however, rejected the American initiative, refusing to surrender control over the assets, with the move requiring the unanimous approval of all 27 EU members, according to the newspaper. The proposal also reportedly “startled” European delegations and Kiev, with some wondering about Washington’s intentions.

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“They were told that this was just simply not going to happen,” one person familiar with the discussions told the FT.

Publicly, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ruled out any compromises on Russian assets, insisting that “they should remain frozen in Europe. This is our business and we are deciding over it.” Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski was even more blunt, saying that any returning of the funds to Russia could only occur “over our dead bodies.”

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Western countries froze approximately $300 billion in Russian sovereign assets following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, with the bulk held at the Brussels-based Euroclear securities depository. Moscow has denounced the move as outright “theft.”

While EU countries managed to agree on using proceeds from the funds to support Ukraine, the proposal to confiscate them outright has met fierce resistance amid concerns that the move would undermine the bloc’s business reputation and trigger legal retaliation from Moscow.

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Belgium has proven the most formidable obstacle as it feared that using Russian sovereign funds without Moscow’s consent would expose Euroclear and Belgian taxpayers to enormous legal claims.

Commenting on the FT article, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow had no information about the purported American initiative. However, he stressed that Russia would make every effort to recover the “stolen assets,” including legal action, court proceedings, and the prosecution of those responsible.

The FT report comes after Trump last week announced an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin to allow additional Russian diesel exports to alleviate the pressure on American and global markets.

In addition, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing sources, that Washington is also considering relaxing sanctions on some vessels belonging to what Western media call a Russian “shadow fleet” used to transport Russian oil.

The report also comes amid an escalating Trump-Zelensky feud, with the US president blaming Kiev’s strikes on Russian oil refineries for soaring fuel prices and calling for Ukraine to get a “new president.” Zelensky, in turn, said he felt betrayed by Trump over the Russian diesel deal and restrictions on Ukraine’s access to Starlink.