U.S. Congress urges Biden to "take swift action" to confiscate Russian assets

A bipartisan group of members of the U.S. Congress has called on President Joe Biden to begin implementing a law to confiscate frozen Russian assets as part of sanctions against Russia. The congressmen noted that Russia shows no signs of easing its "military campaign," so it is time for the United States to "act decisively."

This is stated in an open letter from the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus. According to the co-chair of the group, Marcy Kaptur, the letter was also signed by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, International Relations Committee member Jim Risch, and Budget Committee Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse.

Earlier, the U.S. State Department announced its intention to exercise the right to confiscate Russian assets. Work is underway with the G7 partners to direct the seized funds to compensate Ukraine for the damage caused by Russian aggression, said State Department spokesman Anthony Blinken.

"We appreciate that your National Security Council is engaged in negotiations to encourage our G7 and EU partners to find creative mechanisms to use Russian sovereign funds frozen in their respective jurisdictions. To demonstrate to Russia that we are serious, it is very important to take steps towards implementing the law on confiscation of Russian assets in support of Ukraine," the lawmakers said.

The Congress not only called on Biden to "take swift action to implement the REPO law," but also to inform lawmakers about it.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, Estonia has recently become the first country in the world to allow the use of assets of Russian citizens frozen by sanctions to restore Ukraine. 65 deputies voted for the adoption of the relevant law, three voted against.

Earlier, U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine's Economic Recovery Penny Pritzker said that the confiscation of Russian assets requires a collective decision by all countries that have frozen them in their financial institutions. Therefore, we should not expect this to happen quickly, she said.

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