Orbán warns: Confiscating Russian assets could trigger Europe-Russia conflict
Photo: Viktor Orbán (Getty Images)
The confiscation of Russia’s frozen assets could lead to a Russia-Europe conflict, or even war, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated on Facebook.
"There is a new wonder-weapon from Brussels: to seize and use Russia’s currency reserves in Europe. This is a Russia-Europe conflict, it could even be a prelude to war. The only way to prevent escalation is through direct Russia-Europe negotiations. We insisted on this in meetings over the past few days," Orbán said.
He also noted that last Thursday and Friday, he met with several European leaders and allegedly saw firsthand that today, all European leaders are thinking about war.
"Europe is running out of strength and money. The biggest question is: who will finance what remains of Ukraine after the war? Who has the money for this? Citizens of which European Union country are ready to send billions of euros to Ukraine, which cannot support itself?" Orbán added.
Background
As of now, the EU has postponed its decision on using Russia’s frozen assets to provide aid to Ukraine until December. This is considered not critical, since Ukraine’s funding needs for 2025 are already covered.
Belgium has once again blocked the use of Russia’s frozen assets for aid. The Belgian depository Euroclear is the largest holder of Russia’s frozen assets. Officially, Belgium refuses to support the seizure of assets due to alleged "risks of lawsuits" from the Russian regime.
Establishing a structure that would use Russia’s frozen assets in Ukraine’s interest will take some time. In the meantime, the European Union will use its own funds to support Ukraine.
