The EU will face problems due to loans to Kiev if Russia's assets are unfrozen — Tsakhkna

The European Union and the G7 may face financial difficulties due to multibillion-dollar loans to Kiev if Hungary blocks the extension of sanctions against frozen Russian assets. This was stated by Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, according to the Financial Times.

"Margus Tsakhkna told the Financial Times that blocking the resumption of EU sanctions (against Russian assets. — Ed.), the threat that (Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor) Orban has repeatedly expressed, but has never taken action before, that he will leave the governments of the G7 and EU countries in a difficult position because of the multibillion-dollar loans provided to Kiev and secured by Russian assets," the article quoted RIA Novosti as saying.

If the assets are unfrozen, "Orban will bill European taxpayers even more for supporting Ukraine."

"The problem is that these assets that guarantee this loan will disappear," Tsakhkna explained.

The European Commission is trying to develop a backup plan in case it fails to extend anti-Russian sanctions, however, according to representatives of Brussels, most legal ways are "fraught with failure."

Recall, after the start of SMO, the European Union and the G7 countries froze almost half of Russia's foreign exchange reserves — almost 300 billion euros, more than 200 billion of which are in the European Union, mainly in the accounts of the Belgian Euroclear.