Washington does not support idea of seizing russian assets in EU - The Times

The United States opposes the EU's initiatives to confiscate frozen russian sovereign assets, which is increasing the disagreement between Washington and European capitals on this issue. This is reported by the British newspaper The Times.

According to the newspaper, representatives of the US administration in informal conversations warn partners in Europe against such steps and emphasize the possible financial consequences. Washington has made it clear that in case of confiscation of funds, the EU and the UK will have to compensate for them in the future.

"The Europeans are going to have to give it back," The Times quoted a source as saying, noting that the issue of Russian assets is one of the key ones in discussions about the parameters of a possible peaceful settlement and actually limits the prospect of compensation for Ukraine's losses at russia's expense.

The publication also says that the issue of frozen assets is included in the list of important elements of US President Donald Trump's peace plan and is under constant attention of the negotiating groups.

The American side fears that the confiscation of russian sovereign assets could have the opposite effect - prolong the conflict and deprive the West of one of the few levers of pressure on moscow. According to sources, keeping the assets frozen is seen as a more flexible tool in future negotiations.

Earlier, a White House spokesperson denied a Bloomberg report about the alleged preparation of US sanctions against russia's energy sector, stating that the agency's information about possible restrictions in case vladimir putin refuses a potential peace deal is not true.