Moscow : The $1 billion in Russian assets frozen in the United States remain Russia’s property, and Moscow will determine how the funds should be used if they are released, Russian presidential administration deputy head Maxim Oreshkin said in an interview with VGTRK journalist Pavel Zarubin.
Commenting on President Vladimir Putin’s recent remarks about potentially transferring the funds to the Board of Peace, Oreshkin stressed: “The billion [dollars] belongs to Russia, and we will provide instructions on how we deem it appropriate to use them.”
Oreshkin noted that the process is straightforward if US financial institutions comply: “If American banks, which are currently prohibited from executing orders from Russia, carry out these orders, then the transaction will proceed. It’s simple.”
During a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on January 22, Putin said Moscow was ready to allocate $1 billion to support the Palestinian people through the Board of Peace, a structure he was invited to join by former US President Donald Trump. The use of frozen Russian assets as part of this contribution has been discussed with US representatives and was raised again during the American delegation’s visit to the Kremlin on January 22.
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