Biden, France's Macron reach agreement on using Russian assets for Ukraine
U.S. President Joe Biden said on Sunday he had reached an agreement with French President Emmanuel Macron on the use of profits from frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine, Paralel.Az reports citing Reuters.
Asked if the two men had discussed the issue and whether they had come up with an agreement, Biden replied "Yes and yes."
Around 260 billion euros ($280.9 billion) of Russian central bank funds are frozen worldwide, most of it in the EU. The funds generate 2.5 billion to 3.5 billion euros a year in profit, which the EU says is not contractually owed to Russia and therefore represents a windfall.
The idea, championed by the U.S., is to use this profit as a steady revenue stream to service a large loan of $50 billion that could be raised on the market. Russia says any diversion of the profits from its frozen funds would amount to theft.