The funds should be used as bargaining power in talks over Ukraine, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said

The US intends to use frozen Russian assets as a bargaining chip in negotiations over Ukraine, rather than seizing them outright and handing them over to Kiev, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said.

Speaking to Fox News on Wednesday, Bessent explained the US stance on the more than $300 billion in Russian assets immobilized across Western financial institutions since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. The bulk of the funds is within EU jurisdiction, while the US reportedly holds around $5 billion. Moscow has repeatedly denounced the freezing as a “theft.”

Bessent suggested that the frozen assets are “part of the negotiation with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin,” adding that “I don’t think we should seize them immediately.”

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“It is a chip on the table during this big negotiating process. And we will see whether part of that goes, part or all goes to the Ukraine rebuild,” he added.

There has been heated debate across the West about confiscating Russian assets and transferring them to Ukraine as fast as possible – something Kiev has insisted on. Some EU leaders and experts have cautioned against outright seizure, warning it could violate international law, undermine investor confidence, and destabilize financial markets.

The EU has instead opted to transfer profits and interest generated by the assets to Ukraine, with the windfall proceeds estimated at more than $3 billion annually.

Last year, the US Congress passed legislation granting the administration legal authority to confiscate Russian sovereign assets, although Washington has not yet exercised this option, citing legal and financial risks. Instead, the US joined other G7 members in supporting a $50 billion loan to Ukraine backed by interest earnings from frozen Russian assets.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said Russia will never renounce its rights to the frozen assets and will not give up defending them. He also warned of “very serious judicial and legal consequences” if the West attempts to seize the funds outright and transfer them to Ukraine.

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