WASHINGTON, 25 April 2022, (TON): Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said “the Ukrainian authorities are negotiating with the United States and other Western countries on the use of Russian assets frozen by the West.”

Shmyhal told media “we are having these negotiations with the United States, with all our partners. This is a very important international issue, the task and goal is to find a solution on how to use these frozen assets to finance the restoration of Ukraine in this case.”

State Department and the White House informed “Shmyhal met in Washington with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan to discuss American assistance to his country and continue pressure on Russia.”

Western countries, agai-nst the backdrop of a special operation in Ukraine, imposed tough sanctions against Russia, including freezing the country’s foreign exchange reserves, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov earlier estimated that about half, or about $300 billion, of Russia’s gold and foreign exchange reserves were frozen.

The head of the Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina, noted that the Russian authorities are preparing lawsuits to challenge the freezing of the country’s international reserves.