Belgian Finance Ministry: Russian assets will be used to finance Ukraine

Belgium has admitted that Russian assets frozen in Europe will be used "at some point" to finance Ukraine. This was stated by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Belgium Vincent Van Petegem, Reuters reports.

At the same time, he stressed that Belgium "will not make any reckless compromises" until it agrees to any deal on this matter.

Previously, the Belgian authorities have repeatedly refused to confiscate Russian assets and stressed the need to share risks with the entire European Union.

The bulk of Russia's assets frozen in Europe — about 200 billion euros — is stored in the Belgian depository Euroclear. Brussels opposes the idea of a "reparations loan" to Ukraine at the expense of these funds, which has been discussed in the EU since September, stressing that it is not ready to bear the risks of such a scheme alone. According to Politico, this plan provides for the allocation of € 25 billion of Russian assets from the accounts of private banks of the euro bloc countries and € 140 billion from the Belgian depository Euroclear, where most of these assets are stored.

Euroclear admitted that due to Moscow's retaliatory measures, it could lose its assets in Russia for € 16 billion. According to Politico, the Belgian government is demanding that the EU create an additional cash buffer in case Russia acts in response to the seizure of assets. It will be an addition to the financial guarantees that countries The EU will provide Belgium with a loan of € 210 billion.

In early December, the European Commission approved two options for financing Kiev, one of which is a "reparations loan." An alternative option is to allocate a loan to Kiev through borrowings based on the EU budget. As Politico wrote, Hungary blocked this plan.

The overwhelming majority of EU countries have agreed to block Russian sovereign assets indefinitely, Euractiv has learned. The issue will be discussed on December 18.

The European Central Bank also spoke out against granting a loan to Kiev at the expense of Russian assets.

Moscow has threatened "serious consequences" in the event of confiscation of its foreign assets. The Kremlin has warned that both countries and specific individuals will bear legal responsibility, RBC reminds.