The Kremlin welcomes the EU's decision not to use frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine. “Law and common sense have won a victory for now”
The Kremlin's envoy for economic affairs, Kiril Dmitriev, on Friday (December 19) welcomed the European Union's decision not to use frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine's war effort.
Kiril Dmitriev/PHOTO: Shutterstock
“Law and common sense have won a victory for now“, Dmitriev commented on Telegram, hailing the failure of the attempt to “illegitimate use of Russian assets to finance Ukraine”.
The use of these funds in the context of the European sanctions imposed on Russia was prevented for several weeks by the opposition of Belgium, where most of these frozen assets are located, approximately 210 billion euros.
The leaders negotiated late into Thursday night to offer assurances to Belgium that it would be protected from possible Russian retaliation if it supported the plan “loan from repairs”, however, in the end, this option was not used. As the talks stalled, the leaders decided to borrow on the capital markets.
“We have an agreement. The decision to provide EUR 90 billion) support to Ukraine in 2026–2027 was approved. We committed and delivered“, the President of the European Council, António Costa, wrote on social networks.
Not all countries agreed to the loan package. Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic refuse to support Ukraine and objected, but an agreement was reached in which they did not block the package and received promises of protection against possible financial consequences.
