AP reported on the possibility of Russian businessmen to "buy off

" sanctionsin exchange for transferring money for the restoration of Ukraine, AP reports. Western countries are interested in the idea,

Western countries are considering the idea of ​​giving Russian businessmen the opportunity to “buy off” sanctions in exchange for their funds being used to restore Ukraine, the Associated Press (AP) reports, citing sources.

According to the agency, a similar initiative was made by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of CANADA Chrystia Freeland at a meeting of representatives of the G7 countries (G7: Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, France, Japan and the usa ) last week. According to the interlocutors of the agency, Freeland raised this issue after discussing with "Russian oligarchs": the Canadian minister has known some of them since her journalistic work in Moscow (she headed the Moscow bureau of the Financial Times for several years).

The Ukrainian side is aware of these discussions, one of the interlocutors told AP. According to him, the West is interested in seeing "prominent Russian oligarchs dissociate themselves from [Russian President Vladimir] Putin" and at the same time provide funding for Ukraine.

The EU will study ways to restore Ukraine with the assets of Russian oligarchs Politics

The source of the agency stressed that while it is only an idea, no decisions have been made. But, according to him, Western countries are interested in such an opportunity. As noted by AP, the proposal could help remove legal obstacles for the authorities in countries such as Germany, where the procedure for confiscation of frozen assets is very difficult. If Russian businessmen voluntarily give up part of their property abroad, this will simplify the task, sources say.

The European Union, the United States, Britain and other states began to impose sanctions against RUSSIA, including against businessmen, because of the military operation in Ukraine. According to the European Commission, cited by AP, to date, assets of Russians worth almost €10 billion ($10.7 billion) have been frozen in the EU countries.

Zelensky proposed an agreement on the seizure of Russian assets in favor of Kyiv Politics

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In early May, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that $600 billion would be needed to restore the country after the Russian military operation. Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmygal also mentioned this amount. According to him, so much will be needed to restore the economy and infrastructure in the long term. The Ukrainian leader proposed concluding a multilateral international treaty providing for the confiscation and transfer of Russian assets abroad in favor of those who "suffered from the actions of the Russian army."

The HEAD of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that the EU is looking for ways to use the assets of Russians frozen under sanctions to restore Ukraine. In turn, US President Joe Biden proposed to approve a comprehensive package of laws that provide for the use of confiscated assets of Russian businessmen to assist Ukraine. Earlier, the US House of Representatives passed a law allowing seized Russian assets to be used for these purposes: their total value is estimated at $2 million or more.

The Kremlin compared the seizure of assets of Russian businessmen with a robbery in the Wild West. According to presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the country's entrepreneurs honestly earned what they confiscated due to sanctions, these are not oligarchs.