By Invitation | Ukraine, Russia and reparations

Lawrence Summers, Philip Zelikow and Robert Zoellick on why Russian reserves should be used to help Ukraine

Doing so would strengthen, not undermine, international law, they argue

Image: Dan Williams, Delphine Lee

LAST WEEK The Economist cautioned about how to use Russian assets to help Ukraine. We appreciate the invitation to make the case for what we believe can and should be done. Two of us are lawyers. Each of us has worked on problems of international law and knows the arguments in this case. We know that, as the Ukraine war wears on, the outcome may be determined by the balance of hope or despair as well as on the battlefield. The Ukrainian economy is in the intensive-care unit. But we face a unique circumstance. As Russia launched the largest act of international aggression since the second world war, it left enormous sums, at least $300bn-worth of dollars, euros, sterling and yen, in the law-abiding states that oppose this aggression.

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