Russia won't regain £180 bln in frozen Assets without reparations to Ukraine - EU leader
Photo: Head of EU foreign policy, Kaja Kallas (flickr.com/photos/valstskanceleja)
The European Union stated that Russia will not get back frozen assets totaling over £180 billion until it compensates for the damage caused to Ukraine, according to Sky News.
Currently, about £181.7 billion of Russian assets are frozen under EU sanctions imposed on Moscow for its invasion.
"We can't possibly imagine that... [if] there is a ceasefire or peace deal that these assets are given back to Russia if they haven't paid for the reparations," Kallas said.
It is noted that Ukraine and some EU countries, including Poland and the Baltic states, called on the EU to confiscate the assets and use them to support Kyiv.
However, the EU, like France and Germany, as well as Belgium, which holds the majority of the assets, rejected these calls.
They noted that the EU has allocated future profits from the assets for returning support to Ukraine and questioned the existence of legal grounds for their confiscation.
Frozen Russian assets
It is recalled that after Russia's invasion in 2022, the West blocked about $300 billion from the Russian Central Bank reserves.
Most of the funds are currently held in Europe, including at Belgium’s Euroclear center, while the remainder is divided among the US, Japan, and other G7 countries.
As previously stated by French President Emmanuel Macron, the European Union cannot confiscate the Russian Federation's frozen assets due to a lack of legal basis.
However, it has recently been reported that the EU is preparing its 19th sanctions package and new measures regarding frozen Russian assets.
It is noted that, according to media reports, the European Commission is currently developing a mechanism that will allow almost €200 billion of frozen Russian assets to be transferred for the restoration of Ukraine after the war.
