Time to tap frozen Russian assets, not just interest, Ukraine's foreign minister tells partners

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has called on Western partners to use frozen Russian assets themselves, not just the interest they generate, to purchase weapons for Ukraine, support its recovery and invest in the Ukrainian defence industry.

Source: Sybiha at the Fair Play conference, dedicated to the introduction of additional anti-Russian sanctions, as reported by European Pravda, citing Interfax-Ukraine

Quote: "It is time to move from using interest to using the assets themselves and to direct these funds to the purchase of weapons for Ukraine, investment in Ukraine's defence industry and recovery."

Details: Sybiha stressed that Russia is an existential threat to all of Europe and the Euro-Atlantic area and called for strong decisions to stop Russian aggression.

"We must make extraordinary and bold decisions to stop it [Russia]. Our unity and partners' support for Ukraine must be at the core of these decisions," he said.

Sybiha said he felt during a meeting in The Hague with counterparts from NATO member states that "the understanding of threats Russia poses is growing".

Background: 

• It was recently reported that the European Union plans to keep Russian assets worth €210 billion frozen within EU territory and to direct extraordinary profits from them to support Ukraine at least until the end of 2025.
• Notably, the EU has long been discussing the confiscation of frozen Russian assets and their transfer to Ukraine.
• However, major powers such as France, Germany, Italy and Spain oppose the idea, fearing that confiscating the funds could drive away international investors and cost the EU its key leverage in peace negotiations.

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