US floated unfreezing Russian assets as part of a Ukraine peace deal, according to reports

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner raised the idea on Oct 9 in Miami, at talks with Ukraine, France, Germany, Britain, the EU and NATO, according to four people familiar with the talks. One option put part of the funds in a US-controlled structure.

European officials rejected the plan, the same sources said: they refused to hand control of the assets to anyone and ruled out returning any of it to Moscow.

Russian central bank assets frozen

260 billion euros

Russia's central bank has 260 billion euros frozen in Western countries since 2022, about 193 billion of it at Euroclear in Belgium. Income from the funds backs a loan of up to 50 billion euros to Ukraine.

The Kremlin says it has no information about a US initiative and vows to recover the assets in court. The EU froze them indefinitely in December 2025, until Russia ends the war and compensates Ukraine.