EU Freezes Russian Assets Indefinitely Amid Ongoing Ukraine War
European Union leaders have decided to indefinitely freeze Russian assets that were frozen following the start of the war in Ukraine. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the decision was made in order to increase pressure on Moscow and will remain in effect until Russia seriously engages in peace talks.
Antonio Costa, President of the European Council, also emphasized at a recent EU summit that European countries are committed to keeping the assets frozen until Russia ends its war in Ukraine. According to him, the move is part of a collective effort to maintain political and economic pressure on Moscow.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed the decision and affirmed his country’s support for continuing the asset freeze until Russia provides reparations to Ukraine.
A previous report by Politico indicated that European members of the G7 have been urging Japan and the United States to adopt similar measures and begin confiscating Russian assets. Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the EU, U.S., Canada, and Japan have frozen approximately $300 billion in Russian assets, the majority of which are held in Europe.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry has warned that any move to confiscate these funds would provoke retaliatory action by Moscow. At the same time, the British and Belgian prime ministers recently held talks on the possibility of using the frozen assets to support Ukraine’s reconstruction efforts.
