SAO PAULO, Feb 28 (Reuters) – Western powers butted heads over how to handle frozen Russian assets on Wednesday as G20 finance ministers kicked off a discussion of challenges for the global economy, trying to set aside deep geopolitical divisions.
Brazilian officials hosting the two-day meeting in Sao Paulo sought to focus talks on economic cooperation to tackle issues such as climate change and poverty, proposing a joint statement that avoids direct mention of the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
Yet the geopolitical issues hanging over the event soon spilled into the open, with even close allies divided over what to do with Russian assets blocked by Western powers.
Those fissures were visible after ministers from the Group of Seven major democracies gathered early on Wednesday before the G20 proceedings, debating whether the frozen assets could finance the reconstruction of Ukraine.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday said she believed there was a strong basis in international law to unlock value from the Russian assets, as collateral or by seizure.
But French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire argued on Wednesday that there is not enough basis in international law to seize the Russian assets, emphasizing that such a move would require the endorsement of G20 members and other countries,
