WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has voiced assist for a European Union plan to impose a windfall tax on income generated by frozen Russian sovereign property, calling it a “smart” approach to assist finance the reconstruction of Ukraine, a Treasury spokesperson stated on Thursday.
Yellen, who mentioned frozen Russian property with Ukrainian officers throughout her go to to Kyiv in February, advised Bloomberg Information reporters and editors that Washington was discussing the concept with the EU, the spokesperson stated.
Yellen has repeatedly voiced assist for Ukrainian calls for that Russia ought to pay for the injury it has performed to Ukraine, however has additionally pointed to important authorized obstacles halting strikes to totally seize the $300 billion in Russian central financial institution property frozen by sanctions.
No particulars had been instantly accessible.
EU officers have estimated that the windfall revenue from Russia’s frozen property in Europe might present 3 billion euro ($3.27 billion) a 12 months to rebuild Ukraine.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal in Washington and Lavanya Ahire in Bengaluru)