A very cautious first step: European leaders on Thursday asked the Commission to explore ways to finance Ukraine over the next two years, leaving the door open to the creation of a loan that would draw on frozen Russian assets.
This minimum proposal will be on the agenda of the next European summit in December, de facto postponing the most difficult concessions. It is deliberately formulated in vague terms to take into account the reserves of Belgium, where most of these funds are located. The assets of the Russian Central Bank in the European Union were immobilized after the sanctions decided by the West after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. They represent about 210 billion euros.
The outright seizure of these assets is a red line for EU countries, but the Commission proposes, thanks to the latter, to finance a loan of 140 billion euros to kyiv. Prime Minister Bart De Wever had threatened, from the beginning of the summit, to block the entire process if he did not obtain satisfaction. “Having a solid legal basis is not a luxury,” he insisted after the discussions. “I’m just little Belgium, all I can do is highlight the problems and politely ask for solutions.”
According to a diplomat, several other countries have also expressed reservations. “This solution raises legal questions, questions of risk sharing,” acknowledged French President Emmanuel Macron, stressing that it remains the most promising avenue to help Ukraine financially in the coming years.
“Turning point” in US sanctions
Present in Brussels during part of the discussions, Volodymyr Zelensky urged leaders to take the step on the assets of the Russian central bank. In the afternoon, he praised the “good results” of this summit: “Russia must remember this: Ukraine will have the financial resources it needs to defend itself from Russian aggression,” said the president of the Council of the European Union, Antonio Costa.
Hours earlier, European leaders and Zelensky had also welcomed the decision of the United States, exasperated by Vladimir Putin’s attitude, to impose sanctions against Moscow in turn. “It is a real turning point,” applauded French President Emmanuel Macron.
The American president, who for many months refused to impose these sanctions, considered that his talks with his Russian counterpart were leading “nowhere.” The sanctions involve freezing all assets of Rosneft and Lukoil in the United States, as well as banning all American companies from doing business with the two Russian oil giants.
Russia denounced the US sanctions as “counterproductive”, and its president Vladimir Putin considered that they would not have a “significant impact” on his country’s economy. “I’ll tell you what I think in six months. We’ll see how everything evolves…” Donald Trump replied a few hours later.
ghost fleet
The Europeans also targeted the Russian oil sector by announcing on Wednesday evening a new series of sanctions against Moscow, the 19th since February 2022. It provides, in particular, for a complete cessation of imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) until the end of 2026 and additional measures against the ghost fleet of oil tankers that Moscow uses to evade Western sanctions.
Russian attacks on Ukraine overnight and early Thursday led to the death of a first responder, disrupted train traffic and damaged a synagogue, local authorities announced. Two Ukrainian journalists from the Freedom TV channel were killed on the same day by a Russian drone in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky recalled Thursday in Brussels.
Source: BFM TV
