(Bloomberg) -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen anticipates steps to get Russia to help pay for rebuilding war-ravaged Ukraine, while saying that any move to deploy confiscated Russian assets for that effort would need to be considered carefully.
“The rebuilding costs, ultimately, in Ukraine are going to be enormous,” Yellen said at a press conference in Washington Thursday. “And certainly looking to Russia -- one way or another -- to help provide some of what’s necessary for Ukraine to build is something I think we ought to be pursuing.”
Yellen said she was “unclear” whether, for the U.S., using sequestered Russian assets for Ukraine would require congressional legislation authorizing such use.
“That is a very significant step, and it’s one we would carefully need to think through the consequences of before undertaking it. I wouldn’t want to do so lightly,” Yellen said. American allies and partners would “need to feel comfortable with and be supportive of” such a move, she added.
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