BERLIN: It is not yet clear whether the EU leaders will be able to agree on the use of Russia’s immobilized assets at their summit on Decem...
BERLIN: It is not yet clear whether the EU leaders will be able to agree on the use of Russia’s immobilized assets at their summit on December 18-19, with chances being fifty-fifty, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said.
"Judging by the current situation, I would say that the chances for success are fifty-fifty," he said in an interview with the ZDF television channel.
He admitted however that Europe has certain fears concerning the potential use of Russian frozen assets. "Naturally, these decisions are fraught with certain risks. There are legal problems, there are political problems. I think that legal obstacles can bee overcome but political ones will remain. And we must get over them together to arrive at a clear European position on Russia," he said.
According to Merz, Kiev has "financing for the first quarter but when it is over the situation will be critical." "And this is true that we will probably have to support Ukraine for one or two years more. So, we need to send a clear signal to Moscow that we are ready for that," he stated, adding that he is aware of Belgium’s concerns over Russian assets. "I know about the doubts and concerns and I take them seriously, I don’t share them but I take them seriously," he added.
The European Council on December 12 made a decision to block Russia’s sovereign assets indefinitely. The European Commission hopes to talk EU member countries into passing a decision on the expropriation of Russian assets during the EU summit on December 18-19. There are about €210 billion worth of immobilized Russian assets in Europe, including €185 billion held by Belgium’s Euroclear. That is why, Belgium opposes the European Commission’s plan for the expropriation of Russian sovereign assets blocked in Europe under the guise of a so-called "reparations loan" to Ukraine, being afraid of Russia’s potential response.
According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the potential confiscation of Russia’s assets would constitute an act of theft. Russian Justice Minister Konstantin Chuichenko told TASS that options of how Russia can respond to the potential seizure of its assets have already been presented to the country’s leadership. Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov has warned that Moscow would not leave such actions unanswered.
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