Putin can send people to slaughter but is not ready to lose war, says Belgium's PM
Photo: Bart De Wever, Prime Minister of Belgium (Getty Images)
Russian President Vladimir Putin can afford many things, including leading Russians into a slaughter. But he is not ready to lose the war against Ukraine, said Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever in an interview with HLN.
Commenting on the European Commission’s initiative to provide Ukraine with a so-called reparations loan backed by frozen Russian assets, the Belgian Prime Minister said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen "has to cycle across Europe to reach a compromise."
However, in talks with her and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, De Wever insisted on preserving frozen Russian assets as leverage in negotiations with Putin.
"You cannot serve the same cake three times and eat it as well. If we use this money to finance the war, we are also assuming that the Russians will be exhausted in two years. They are a resilient people. A tsar like Putin can do anything: starve his own people, send them to a slaughter, and carry out genocide here and there. But lose a war? He can't do that," the Belgian Prime Minister said.
Reparations loan
Earlier, the European Commission proposed providing Ukraine with a reparations loan secured by frozen Russian assets.
Belgium, which holds the largest share of Russia’s frozen assets, strongly opposed the idea, saying it would agree only if the EU provided it with a number of guarantees for unforeseen circumstances.
As a result, the reparations loan was never approved. Instead, the European Union allocated €90 billion to Ukraine over the next two years.
According to Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko, this assistance is non-repayable and interest-free.
