Divisions among the many world’s prime financial officers over methods to use Russia’s central financial institution property to help Ukraine spilled into public view on Wednesday when Bruno LeMaire, France’s finance minister, stated that seizing the frozen property can be a violation of worldwide legislation.

The feedback, made on the sidelines of the gathering of finance ministers of the Group of 20 nations in Brazil, got here a day after Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen stated that seizing the property was a chance and advised that there was a authorized justification for doing so.

Officers from the Group 7 superior economies have been debating for months over whether or not they might legally seize greater than $300 billion in Russian central financial institution property stashed in Western nations and use these funds to help Ukraine. These discussions have taken on better urgency amid waning political help in america and Europe to proceed to supply Ukraine with financial and navy help.

Ms. Yellen, who initially had reservations concerning the viability of freezing or seizing Russia’s property, supplied her most express public help so far on Tuesday for the concept of unlocking “the worth” of Russia’s immobilized property.

“Whereas we must always act collectively and in a thought of approach, I imagine there’s a sturdy worldwide legislation, financial, and ethical case for shifting ahead,” Ms. Yellen stated.

However Mr. LeMaire, who spoke just some hours forward of a non-public assembly with Ms. Yellen, pushed again on that assertion.

“We don’t have the authorized foundation to grab the Russian property and we must always by no means act if we don’t obey by the worldwide legislation and by the rule of legislation,” Mr. Le Maire stated, in keeping with a recording of his remarks.

Western officers have been contemplating a number of choices for the way they’ll use the roughly $300 billion Russian central financial institution property, most of which is held within the European Union, to supply financial and navy help for Ukraine. That features the European Fee’s proposal of utilizing curiosity earned on these property, utilizing funds as collateral to borrow cash for Ukraine or giving Ukraine the cash immediately.

There have been indicators of rising momentum amongst western policymakers to make use of Russia’s property as Ukraine’s navy scenario turns into extra dire. Rishi Sunak, Britain’s prime minister, urged his counterparts this week to be extra aggressive of their efforts to discover a lawful technique to seize Russia’s property. Nonetheless, France and Germany have been urging a extra cautious method and Russia has vowed to retaliate if its property are seized.

In a speech earlier than the European Parliament on Wednesday, the European Fee president, Ursula von der Leyen, expressed help for utilizing earnings earned on these property to assist Ukraine’s navy.

“It’s time to begin a dialog about utilizing the windfall earnings of frozen Russian property to collectively buy navy tools for Ukraine,” she stated. “Finally that is about Europe taking accountability for its personal safety.”

Some authorized students have argued that nations that maintain Russian property are entitled to cancel their obligations to Russia and apply these property to what Russia owes for its breach of worldwide legislation underneath the so-called worldwide legislation of state countermeasures.

Ms. Yellen threw her help behind the idea of countermeasures at her information convention on Tuesday.

“There’s a countermeasures idea that I imagine has sturdy justification in worldwide legislation,” stated Ms. Yellen, noting that western nations nonetheless wanted to enact laws to make sure that seizing the Russian property complied with their home legal guidelines.

The Treasury secretary declined to endorse an method, saying allies ought to act collectively.

Mr. LeMaire stated on Wednesday that the countermeasures idea was inadequate.

“We should always actually perceive that taking such vital determination, which is to reap the benefits of the state property, wants a really sturdy authorized foundation,” he stated.

He went on to argue {that a} transfer to grab Russian property ought to have the help of the G20, a threshold that’s unrealistic as a result of Russia is a member of that group.

“We should always not add any type of division among the many G20 international locations,” Mr. LeMaire stated. “You’ll create extra division at a time the place we want extra unity to help Ukraine.”

Eshe Nelson contributed reporting from London and Monika Pronczuk from Brussels.