KYIV (Archyde.com) – Ukraine’s Deputy Justice Minister Iryna Mudra told Archyde.com this week that some allies could set a legal precedent for efforts to secure damages from Russia for aggression. He said it was fearful and impeding progress.
Following the United Nations’ adoption of a resolution demanding damages from Russia last year, allies are negotiating legislative arrangements and other issues. Ukraine intends to secure an international agreement to create a legal basis for transferring the foreign currency reserves of the Central Bank of Russia, which have been frozen by Western countries, to Ukraine and allocating them to reconstruction funds.
Mudra said some countries fear that such a precedent could put foreign assets at risk as they seek reparations for past conflicts they have been involved in. No specific country name was mentioned.
He said the deal only applies to major wars of aggression and that it is “not being used for other conflicts,” and is trying to allay concerns.
At the beginning of the year, the Ukrainian government said economic losses from Russia’s aggression had exceeded $700 billion and that reparations from Russia were essential because the country could not cover it.