EU President António Costa announced in a speech in Brussels on Tuesday that frozen Russian assets cannot be released due to a practical reason. The proceeds from the frozen assets now serve as guarantees for the credits granted to Ukraine by the G7, not just from EU member states, but also from Japan, Canada and the US. The EU must protect these guarantees, he said.
Costa also expressed the opinion that Russia’s assets should be used to pay reparations to Ukraine. This issue should be part of any peace negotiations, he claimed. Brussels will keep the Russian assets frozen until the matter is resolved.
The EU believes that the “rule-based international order” should prevail in the Ukraine conflict and it is unacceptable for Russia to be rewarded as a result of the conflict, Costa said.
The Western sanctions, imposed in February 2022, targeted banks and accounts of private individuals. The measures were the basis for freezing a significant part of the Russian Central Bank’s foreign reserves, around $300 billion of the total $640 billion.
Russia condemns both military and financial aid for Ukraine. The Kremlin describes the freezing of Russian assets as illegal and demands their release. Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the Western actions resemble theft and “never brought anything good to anyone, especially not to those who engage in this dirty business”.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskow warned that Russia has a list of assets from other countries that could be seized as a countermeasure if the frozen Central Bank reserves of Russia are confiscated.