''Give Ukraine Russia’s money to end the war,'' Yellen says

The U.S. Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, said on Tuesday that she supports using some of the money that Russia cannot access because of the war in Ukraine. She said this money could help Ukraine rebuild and resist Russia's attacks.

As AP reports, Yellen said this in Brazil, where she met with other finance leaders from 20 big countries. She said this would be a strong way to stop Russia from causing more trouble in the world.

Russia started a war with Ukraine three years ago. The U.S. and its friends stopped Russia from using some of its money in other countries as a punishment. But this money has not been used for anything. Some people think it is not right to give it to Ukraine. Most of this money is in the EU.

Yellen said using this money for Ukraine would show Russia that it cannot win the war and make it want to end the fighting.

Some people think using this money could hurt the U.S. dollar, which is very important in the world. Yellen said this is not likely to happen because Russia is breaking the rules and there are no other good options.

A spokesman for President Joe Biden, John Kirby, said on Tuesday that Russia should pay for the damage it did to Ukraine. He said the U.S. needs more permission from Congress and more support from its friends to use this money.

There is a law in the U.S. that would let the U.S. use this money for Ukraine, but it has not been passed yet. The EU has a similar law that was passed this month. Yellen said she likes this law.

Brazil is leading the group of 20 big countries this year. The finance leaders talked about many things, such as how to help poor people, how to stop climate change, and how to end the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. The leaders of these countries will meet again in November in Rio.

[With information sourced from AP]