Zelenskyy on his meeting with US Treasury Secretary: Russia will pay for its war
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Janet Yellen, the US Secretary of the Treasury, who visited Kyiv on 27 February. They discussed the "restoration of justice" for Ukrainians.
Source: Office of the President of Ukraine; President Zelenskyy’s video address
Quote from Zelenskyy: "We are extremely grateful to you for the support. The United States has been powerfully supporting us since the first days of this war not only with weapons, but also on the financial front. We really appreciate it."
Details: The Ukrainian president noted the decision of the US administration announced on 24 February to allocate US$9.9 billion in direct budget support to Ukraine in 2023. He stressed that these funds are extremely important, as they allow Ukraine to cover the unfunded part of the state budget and support those Ukrainians who need it most.
Zelenskyy and Yellen discussed cooperation between Ukraine and the International Monetary Fund and the implementation of the IMF’s programs in Ukraine.
They also discussed rebuilding Ukraine's infrastructure destroyed by Russian aggression, stressing the importance of involving the private sector in the implementation of relevant projects.
Zelenskyy emphasised the importance of developing mechanisms to ensure that Russian assets that had been seized are used to rebuild Ukraine.
The president thanked Yellen for the systematic steps the US is taking to increase sanctions pressure on the aggressor state. He stressed the need to strengthen sanctions in order to deprive Russia of the opportunity to finance the war.
Quote from Zelenskyy: "We discussed the needs for reconstruction in Ukraine and the restoration of justice for our people and the entire free world, which means establishing a real mechanism for compensating the damage caused by this war... compensation financed by [seized] Russian assets.
This is not an easy task. But fulfilling it and using Russian assets to compensate for the war damage will be one of the most powerful blows the free world can inflict on this aggressor in particular, and on any other sources of aggression in general.
I think we will find an appropriate format for reparations and Russia will pay for its war. In every sense."
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