Yellen added in a press conference at the beginning of the annual meetingsInternational Monetary Fund andWorld Bank It has a high degree of confidence that Russian sovereign assets, most of which are located in… Europewill remain frozen despite the ongoing need for the EU to renew the freeze every six months.
When asked about the final negotiations on the loan that is scheduled to be granted to Ukraine by the end of this year, Yellen said, “We are very close to finalizing the American part of the loan, which has a total value of $50 billion.”
She added that the American contribution will be paid from revenues from Russian assets and not from American taxpayer money.
US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump pledged to “get out” of the war Russia andUkrainewhich confirms the plans of the G7 allies to finalize the loan before the US elections on November 5.
Earlier on Tuesday, European Union lawmakers approved the bloc’s plan to use proceeds from frozen Russian assets to lend Ukraine an amount of up to 35 billion euros ($38 billion).
Yellen said USIt is ready to contribute about $20 billion to the loan, adding, “There is no major obstacle that needs to be resolved.”
The United States pressed European Union To obtain stronger guarantees that financial assets, mainly held in Euroclear in Belgium, will remain frozen for an extended period even if a truce is reached with a cessation of hostilities in Ukraine.
The goal of the guarantees is to reduce the risk that American taxpayers will be held responsible for repaying the loan.
Yellen said: “I think the guarantees are sufficient. We asked for some minor improvements, but we are comfortable that this loan is safe and will be repaid from Russian assets, which means Russia will be responsible for repaying it, not American taxpayers.”
In prepared remarks, Yellen said that next week the United States will unveil new sanctions against Russia, including against “intermediaries in other countries who provide Russia with vital supplies for its militaries.”
She declined to provide additional details about the sanctions when asked about the possibility of imposing secondary sanctions on financial institutions.