US Treasury calls for urgent confiscation of frozen Russian assets

Some analysts fear that if the frozen assets of Russia are confiscated, US economic problems will worsen. However, secretary of the US Department of the Treasury Janet Yellen is optimistic about the issue. The official believes the risks for the US dollar and the national economy are completely insignificant. At the same time, Yellen acknowledges some deterioration if Russia’s frozen assets are confiscated. However, it is “extremely unlikely” that tapping the frozen funds would harm the dollar’s standing in the global economy, Yellen added. "With respect to where we go with this, there are risks, the financial stability issue is a risk. And we're working to evaluate these risks and to outline possible options for consideration," the US Secretary of Treasury pinpointed. At the same time, the official reminded that the US and its allies are "representing half the global economy." "Realistically, there are not alternatives to the dollar, euro, yen, so I'm not too worried about that," Yellen stressed. Earlier, the US official stated that there were "strong international law, economic and moral case" for the seizure of frozen assets. However, the Russian authorities disagree with this. According to Chairman of the Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina, the confiscation and freezing of Russian assets by the West would be "a strong negative signal to other central banks also. Essentially this is a violation of the basic principle of security of central banks’ assets. The immunity of assets of central banks against enforcement measures is one of key basic principles in international law." Derogation from this principle will lead to a gradual undermining of the system and positions of reserve currencies globally, Nabiullina added.