Assets

Prior to the start of the war in Ukraine the Russians had some $385 billion dollars in various banks around the world. This represented the proceeds from the sale of exports so it was legitimate income. Russia quickly brought home about $100 billion of that before the West froze the remaining assets. Now the US and England want to confiscate those assets and give that money to Ukraine who can then use it to purchase military equipment, most of which will come from the USA. The problem is under current law the money cannot be seized unless it was gotten illegally which is not the case. So what to do. Europe has come up with a plan that would allow the West to take any earnings from the Russian money but not the principal. The US still insists that the entire amount be confiscated. Another way to access the Russia funds in what is considered legal is to add up all the money that companies lost when they pulled out of Russia at the start of the war. These companies had to leave expensive infrastructure that they paid for and want restitution. While this seems more reasonable than just confiscating the funds something a little questionable arises when the amount of these assets comes to $280 billion which is so close to the amount of money available. Is this just a coincidence. This opens the door to a possible peaceful settlement to the war. Russia can be given Crimea, which they had before the war, plus the Donbas which is the Russian speaking areas of Ukraine plus an agreement by the West not to invite Ukraine into NATO plus the return of the $285 billion in frozen assets. Let us see if anyone will make such a proposal. Will the US defense industry who see these assets as new military spending have any influence on the decision.