'The Aggressor Must Pay': U.S. Praises EU For Taking First Step To Use Frozen Russian Assets For Ukraine

The United States on Monday praised a decision by the European Council to consider sending revenues from frozen Russian assets to Ukraine, TURAN's Washinngton correspondent reports.

"We are encouraged by any action the EU may take to use Russian assets for the benefit of Ukrainians," State Department's Spokesperson Matthew Miller told a daily briefing when responding to TURAN's questions.

In a first concrete step towards the bloc's aim of using the money to finance the reconstruction of Ukraine, the EU yesterday adopted a law to set aside windfall profits made on frozen Russian central bank assets,

The U.S. in the past had floated the idea of confiscating the assets outright but EU officials view this as legally too risky.  

Miller went on to add, "We continue to be in active conversations with our allies and partners, including the G7, on what additional steps may be possible within respective legal systems and under international law to make Russia cease its aggression against Ukraine and to ensure Russia pays for the damage it has caused."

The U.S. he said, is "supportive" of having domestic legislative authorities. "We made that clear in the past that it will give us flexibility as we continue these discussions with our allies and our partners.  Ultimately, we want to see Russia pay for the damage it’s caused, and we continue to pursue all appropriate vehicles to do so," Miller concluded.

When asked if he thought Russia had to pay for the damage because it's an aggressor, the spokesperson said, "they very much are the aggressor, yeah."

Following Moscow's reinvasion of Ukraine in 2022, the EU and G7 nations froze more than $320 billion of Russian central bank assets.