No frozen assets for Russia without ‘paying for damages:’ EU

COPENHAGEN (AFP): It can’t possibly be “imagined” that frozen Russian assets are given back to Moscow unless they pay for the damages in Ukraine, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Saturday.

Kallas also said the bloc should consider all options on how to maximize the use of Russian frozen assets to help Ukraine, in the face of opposition from key player Belgium.

The EU froze some 200 billion euros ($233 billion currently) of Russian central bank assets after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the vast majority of which are held by the international deposit organization Euroclear in Belgium.

“Ministers acknowledged the need to address Ukraine’s financing gap and to hold Russia accountable for war damages,” Kallas said after talks with EU foreign ministers in Denmark.

“To achieve this, it is crucial to explore all available avenues while minimizing the potential risks,” she added.

Last year, the European Union – along with its G-7 partners – used the interest being earned on the assets to back a $50 billion loan to Ukraine that is still being paid out in instalments.

But there is pressure from a number of more hawkish EU states to do more to make use of the assets – with mooted options including confiscating them outright or seeking greater profits by ploughing them into riskier investments.

“We are also advancing the work on the use of the Russian frozen assets, because it’s clear that the predator has to pay for what he did,” EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said during a visit to Estonia on Saturday.

Belgium so far remains firmly against doing more to tap the assets, fearing that it could end up being held liable for any losses.

“Belgium is against any confiscation,” said Belgian foreign minister Maxime Prevot.

“Changing the investment strategy is not an option as well because it could increase the level of risk, both legal, financial and judicial risk,” he added.

Kallas acknowledged that the opposition meant there would likely be no movement on the issue in the near future, but she said the EU should “work on the mitigation of those risks.”

As the U.S. pushes efforts to try to end the conflict, the EU’s top diplomat did say the bloc was clear on one issue.

“This is that, given the devastation that Russia is causing in Ukraine and has caused in Ukraine so far, it is unthinkable that Russia will ever see this money again unless it fully compensates Ukraine for the damages caused,” she said.