US proposal to transfer frozen Russian assets to Washington-controlled vehicle rejected by Europeans
The United States proposed to European allies a partial unfreezing of roughly 260 billion euros in Russian sovereign assets and their transfer to a new financial structure under US control, as part of an effort to revive peace talks on Ukraine. European delegates at talks in Miami rejected the plan, which was presented by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, and said they would not give up control over the assets or return any of them to Moscow.
Key points
- US proposed a partial unfreezing of Russian sovereign assets and their transfer to a new financial structure under Washington control.
- The stated goal of the proposal is to revive peace talks on Ukraine.
- The plan was presented in Miami last week by US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner at talks involving Ukraine, France, Germany, the UK, the EU and NATO.
- European delegates rejected the proposal; one source said they were told it 'simply will not happen.'
- Western countries froze about 260 billion euros in Russian state assets in 2022, with the bulk held in the EU.
- Kyiv has already received a 45 billion euro G7 loan backed by revenues from the frozen Russian assets in the EU.
- Unfreezing the assets would require consensus among all 27 EU member states, which is considered unlikely.
Why it matters
The episode exposes a strategic split between Washington and its European allies over how to use roughly 260 billion euros in frozen Russian sovereign assets — money at the centre of financing for Ukraine's defense and reconstruction. European refusal to hand control to a US-led vehicle limits US leverage in any future peace settlement and revives concerns that Washington may pursue an approach to pressuring Moscow that its partners have already declined.
What happened
US negotiators put forward a proposal to European allies to partially unfreeze Russian sovereign assets blocked since 2022 and route them through a new special-purpose financial structure under US control, as part of efforts to revive peace talks on Ukraine. The idea was raised at meetings in Miami last week between US President Donald Trump's envoys and representatives of Ukraine, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the EU and NATO. The plan was presented by Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law. European delegates rejected the proposal; officials who attended said they were opposed to giving up control of the assets or returning any of them to Moscow, with one source saying they were told this 'simply will not happen.' A US official said the use of frozen Russian assets was being discussed as part of a comprehensive peace deal, but that the mechanisms for releasing the funds and the directions for spending them remained under negotiation. The proposal caught European capitals and Kyiv by surprise and raised questions about Washington's approach to pressuring Moscow.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian coverage uniformly foregrounded the US role in proposing the unfreezing of Russian assets and highlighted the surprise in Kyiv. Reports stressed European rejection and the wider question of allied unity, reflecting Ukrainian sensitivity to any deal that could weaken the sanctions regime or shift control of assets that underpin support for Ukraine's defense and reconstruction.
How international sources describe it
The lone international agency report from APA framed the episode primarily as a US diplomatic move to revive peace talks, treating the proposal as one US negotiating tactic rather than centering the Ukrainian reaction. It gave relatively more weight to the US framing of the proposal as a tool to bring Russia back to the table, while still noting European opposition.
Where reporting differs
Sources differ on how to describe the US initiative: Ukrainian outlets (ZN.UA, Ukrinform, European Pravda, LIGA.net) tend to describe the proposal as one to unfreeze or unblock Russian assets, while the original FT reporting and other accounts describe it as a proposal to transfer the assets to a new US-controlled financial vehicle rather than to release them to Russia. The two phrasings carry different implications about whether the assets would stay encumbered or be effectively returned to Moscow.
Background
Western countries froze approximately 260 billion euros in Russian state assets in 2022 after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with the bulk held in the EU. Kyiv has already received a 45 billion euro G7 loan backed by revenues from those frozen assets. At the end of the previous year, EU leaders committed to using frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine's reconstruction if Russia does not pay reparations, but any decision to unfreeze the assets would require consensus among all 27 member states, which is considered unlikely. Earlier EU plans to use the assets collapsed at the end of 2025 after Belgium — where most of the funds are physically held — vetoed the idea, and the EU instead agreed on a 90 billion euro loan for Ukraine for 2026-2027. A similar proposal regarding frozen Russian assets was included in a 28-point US peace plan put forward the previous year, which did not gain support. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on 14 October that Moscow would 'make every possible effort' to recover its assets, including through legal action, and Russia has made the lifting of sanctions and the unfreezing of assets a condition of an 'energy ceasefire.'