France rejects proposal to confiscate frozen Russian assets: what's behind it

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has expressed his disagreement with the proposal of US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on the legality of confiscating about $300 billion in frozen Russian assets. This demonstrates the deep disagreement between the G7 countries on this issue.

Speaking after the meeting of G7 financial officials, Le Maire said that France believes that there are no sufficient grounds for confiscation in international law and that more work needs to be done on this issue. He noted that any such steps should be based on international law and supported by all G20 members.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen believes that there are strong international, economic and moral arguments for confiscating Russian assets or using them as collateral. She emphasized the need to help Ukraine after Russia's invasion.

The G7 members are trying to agree on a decision on frozen Russian assets after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. These discussions should be completed by June.

Despite the different views, one G7 official emphasized that all participants agree that Russia should compensate for the damage caused, and some experts believe that there is a legal way to seize frozen assets.