Washington-The United States plans to use frozen Russian assets as a bargaining tool in negotiations over the Ukraine war rather than seizing them outright and handing them to Kiev, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday.

Speaking to press, treasury Secretary Scott Bessent outlined Washington’s position on more than $300 billion in Russian assets blocked in Western financial institutions since 2022. While most of the funds are held under EU jurisdiction, the US controls about $5 billion. Moscow has condemned the freeze as “theft.”

Bessent said the assets are “part of the negotiation and argued against immediate seizure. He suggested they could eventually contribute to Ukraine’s reconstruction, depending on the outcome of talks.

The debate over confiscating Russian assets has divided Western allies. Ukraine has pressed for swift transfer, but some European leaders and experts warn outright seizure could breach international law, undermine global financial trust, and rattle markets.

For now, the EU has chosen to redirect profits and interest earned on the frozen funds, expected to yield over $3 billion annually, to Ukraine. The US, while legally empowered by Congress to seize Russian sovereign assets, has refrained due to legal and financial risks. Instead, Washington joined the G7 in approving a $50 billion loan to Ukraine backed by interest from the frozen funds.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia will never abandon its claim to the assets and warned of “serious judicial and legal consequences” if they are confiscated and transferred to Ukraine.