INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
special envoy for Ukraine's economic recovery said Monday that tapping frozen Russian assets would be an "easy" source of money for Kyiv,
but G7 countries must first agree collectively to do it.Penny Pritzker spoke on the sidelines of the first day of the annual meeting of
global elites in Davos, Switzerland, where the war in Ukraine figures highly on the agenda.Ukraine has pushed for the West to seize $300
billion in frozen Russian assets to pay for its reconstruction.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who will address the World Economic
Forum on Tuesday, said after talks with Swiss President Viola Amherd in Bern that the fate of Russian assets was an "urgent issue."But G7
nations have said any confiscation is fraught with legal problems.Diplomats say the United States backs such a move but has faced resistance
from Europeans, who fear that Russia and other players will stop trusting the West as a safe place for their money."I think there's enormous
hope that the Russian sovereign assets could become an easy source of financing," Pritzker said at the Ukraine House, whose organizers
include the foundation of Ukrainian businessman Victor Pinchuk and asset manager Horizon Capital.She said the Group of Seven wealthy nations
has asked ministers to study if Russian assets could be used for Ukraine."The whole thing is very complicated
And the first thing you know is a ton of lawyers need to get involved," Pritzker said.A "legal theory" is needed, along with legislation and
a decision on who would oversee the process.She said the United States would not go it alone and a "collective decision" must be
made."There's real work going on and real effort and real intention, but we're far from a conclusion," she said.At the same talk, French
President Emmanuel Macron's envoy for Ukraine reconstruction, Pierre Heilbronn, noted that two-thirds of the estimated $300 billion of
Russian assets are concentrated in Europe."We're very clear in effect on the fact that there should be a G7 more or less common position on
that," Heilbronn said.Pritzker also sought to reassure Ukrainians, who worry about war fatigue among allies, that Washington would continue
to provide aid to Ukraine despite "uncertainty" over U.S
and European assistance.Republicans have blocked U.S
President Joe Biden's push for more funds for Ukraine.Donald Trump, who has spoken out against military support for Ukraine, is likely to be
the Republican candidate against Biden in the November presidential election."It's easy for us to become fractured and we have to be careful
because that's exactly what [Russian President Vladimir] Putin would like us to do, is to start bickering among ourselves," she said."I want
to give reassurance to Ukrainian people that the American people and America is there for you, even though our politics and democracies can
be very complicated," she said.
