Belgium rejects idea of transferring frozen Russian assets to Ukraine

The Belgian government is firmly opposed to the idea of using frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine.

Source: Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken, quoted by Euractiv

Details: Speaking on Belgian television, Francken said the idea of transferring Russian assets for Ukraine's benefit was not open for discussion.

Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken said that the issue was not open for discussion and that the door was closed, adding that the Belgian prime minister would stand his ground.

Noting that Belgium's opposition had caused dissatisfaction, he singled out the Baltic states in particular for their unwillingness to abandon the idea.

Francken said that they should be more careful about repeatedly raising the issue and backing Belgium into a corner, adding that he did not consider this wise.

He stressed that Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia receive significant support from Belgium.

Background:

• The Financial Times reported that Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain and Poland had prepared a letter to the European Commission calling for work to resume on a mechanism for using frozen Russian sovereign assets to finance Ukraine.
• During a visit to Kyiv on 18 August, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot said Belgium needed guarantees that it would not be left to bear the costs alone if Russia successfully challenged such a decision in court.
• Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, for his part, stressed that now was the time to actively return to discussions on frozen Russian assets and how they could be used to support Ukraine.

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