Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever has once again expressed doubts about the use of frozen Russian assets to finance loans to Ukraine.
Points of attention
- Belgium, led by Prime Minister Bart de Wever, expresses doubts about using frozen Russian assets to finance loans for Ukraine due to concerns about legal implications and Russia's ability to repay the debt.
- The introduction of tough sanctions against Russia, including asset freezes, as a response to their invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has raised concerns among Western powers.
- Belgium emphasizes the need for risk-sharing guarantees before implementing any plan to use frozen Russian assets, highlighting legal issues and the vulnerability of funds held in Brussels-based Euroclear.
Belgium doubts the use of Russian assets for Ukraine
The Belgian Prime Minister has once again raised legal issues regarding the use of frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine.
Wever leads a group of countries that remain skeptical about the move due to concerns about legal implications.
It is noted that Belgium is particularly vulnerable in this regard, as more than half of the funds are held in the Brussels-based clearing company Euroclear.
In his comments this morning, de Wever said he had asked other leaders to provide firm guarantees on risk-sharing if frozen Russian assets were used to finance loans to Ukraine.
He stressed that Belgium would be ready to implement this plan only after receiving satisfactory answers to its questions, and so far no such answers have been received.
Luxembourg, represented by its prime minister, stated that "you can't just take something that belongs to another country" and expressed concern about the possibility that Russia would not repay the debt. Such doubts exist in France.
Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Western powers imposed a series of tough sanctions against the Russian Federation. One of the key measures was the freezing of Russian assets abroad.
According to estimates by the International Monetary Fund and independent experts, the volume of such assets in 2024-2025 will exceed $300-350 billion. Exact data is difficult to establish due to the distribution of funds across different jurisdictions.
