Kuleba in Davos: Ukraine needs Russia's frozen assets, not a frozen conflict

The world must move towards the transfer of seized Russian assets to Ukraine, rather than a frozen conflict, in order to prevent an increase in the number of interstate conflicts.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said at a joint briefing with his British counterpart, David Cameron, in Davos on Wednesday, January 17, Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"When we hear arguments coming from some experts or thinkers that, maybe, it's worth freezing the conflict, our response is that we need [Russia's] frozen assets, not a frozen conflict," the minister said.

Kuleba said he was sure that this should be the way forward to send a clear message to everyone in the world: "if you dare to break the rules, you will be forced to pay."

"If we don't send that message, if we don't make it very clear, the number of interstate conflicts and tensions across the globe will be growing, and the price of fixing them will be much higher than the price of helping Ukraine," he said.

Earlier, U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine's Economic Recovery, Penny Pritzker, said that the process of confiscating Russian assets would require a collective decision of all countries that have frozen Russian funds in their financial institutions and it would take time.