The US has decided, the EU despite internal disagreements supports Ukraine, Kiev is eager

The US Senate Committee has just passed a bill to confiscate Russian assets to support Ukraine.

The bill, which was recently approved by the US Senate, will help create the premise for the confiscation of frozen Russian assets in some places and hand them over to Ukraine for reconstruction, following the impact of Russia's military campaign in this country, according to Reuters.

Khu Khu nghỉ dưỡng này được mô tả là một vùng đất của Nga trên bờ biển Bulgariawww.euractiv.com/

Kamchia Resort is described as a Russian enclave on the Bulgarian coast. (Source: euractiv.com)

On January 24, the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted with an unprecedented 20-1 in favor of the "Rebuilding Prosperity and Economic Opportunity (REPO) Act for the Ukrainians."

America decided to "open the way"?

If the bill is passed by both the US Senate and House of Representatives and signed into law by President Joe Biden, as the White House expects, it would pave the way for Washington to seize central bank assets from a country with which it is not at war for the first time.

Senator Ben Cardin, the Democratic chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, is optimistic that the bill will become law - noting that it has received broad support, from both Democrats and Republicans in the Senate and House, as well as from President Biden's administration.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee also passed a similar bill with overwhelming bipartisan support. Cardin said he expected the Democratic-led Senate and Republican-led House to be able to resolve their differences.

The EU, the US, Japan and Canada have frozen about $300 billion in assets of the Russian Central Bank in 2022, when Moscow launched a special military operation in Ukraine. However, only about $5-6 billion of that is frozen in the US, the majority of Russian assets are held in Europe - in Belgium's Euroclear Central Securities Depository.

Meanwhile, according to Ukrinform , UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Belgian counterpart Alexander De Croo have agreed to continue joint actions on sanctions against Russia and the seizure of its frozen assets in support of Ukraine.

Bulgaria first spoke out

Also related to the acquisition of Russian assets, Bulgaria recently announced that it was eyeing the seizure of a Russian-owned resort on the Black Sea coast. Before the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out, the Kamchia Tourist Center was said by the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergei Lavrov, to be used to expand Russia's influence in Europe.

This is a new move by Bulgaria, as it is the only EU member state that has not yet imposed sanctions on any Russian individuals or entities on the EU sanctions list, as it does not have the tools to enforce such sanctions.

Bulgarian lawmakers from the ruling majority are currently drafting a bill that would allow the government to seize the Russian resort of Kamchia, according to Euractiv . The resort, described as a Russian enclave on the Bulgarian coast, has been operating for more than 14 years. Kamchia is owned by the City of Moscow, but is managed in Bulgaria by Bulgarian nationals who are not officially subject to EU sanctions.

Recently, Bulgarian media reported that the Russian Asset Management Agency has requested the appointment of the head of the Russian oil giant Lukoil as Director of the Kamchia Center. According to the latest figures released by the Bulgarian government in 2019, about 300,000 Russians own more than 500,000 real estate properties in Bulgaria.

Ukraine looks to "European friends"

As for Ukraine, recently, President Zelensky clearly expressed his hope that the European Council will release 50 billion Euros for Ukraine on February 1, during a meeting with Mr. Manfred Weber, President of the European People's Party (EPP) and Leader of the European People's Party Group of the European Parliament, according to information from the Ukrainian President's website.

“We are counting on the EU to release 50 billion euros in support for Ukraine at the special meeting of the European Council on February 1,” Mr. Zelensky made clear his proposal to the leader of the European People's Party during the conversation.

The Ukrainian president also said that the parties also discussed in detail Kiev's progress on the path to European integration. In the context of the US's difficulty in providing more military aid to Ukraine, EU officials intend to consider a new plan that would allow Kiev to receive military aid worth tens of billions of dollars, despite internal disagreements within the Union.

Showing no less enthusiasm, during his meeting with Mr. Manfred Weber, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal also spoke about the need to strengthen measures against Russia, as part of the preparation of the 13th package of sanctions and the confiscation of Russian assets frozen in the EU, according to the relevant announcement on the Prime Minister's Telegram .

“The meeting included continuing comprehensive support for Ukraine from the European Parliament and all European institutions. We discussed the need to strengthen sanctions against Russia while preparing the 13th package. I raised the issue of confiscating frozen Russian assets in the EU,” Shmyhal said.

“We expect even stronger decisions from our European friends,” the Ukrainian Prime Minister expressed confidence.

"Respond accordingly"

In response to the latest moves by Ukraine and the West, Moscow also warned of "equivalent retaliation". Russia announced that it had in hand a list of US, European and other assets that would be seized in retaliation, if the other side made moves to seize its assets.

The Russian news agency RIA calculated that as the Kremlin retaliated, the West would lose nearly $300 billion in assets and investments if it seized frozen Russian assets to help rebuild Ukraine. RIA cited data showing that direct investment in Russia by the EU, G7 countries, Australia and Switzerland totaled $288 billion by the end of 2022.

Source