The funds reportedly play a key role in President Donald Trump’s Ukraine peace plan
The EU’s insistence on seizing Russian central bank assets stands in the way of US President Donald Trump’s attempts to resolve the Ukraine conflict, Politico and The Times have reported, citing officials in Washington.
EU leaders are meeting in Brussels on Thursday to debate using an estimated €210 billion ($246 billion) in Russian assets to back a so-called “reparations loan” for Kiev – a move Moscow has condemned as “theft.” Belgium, where most of the assets are held, has demanded that the legal risks be shared among bloc members.
“The EU’s problem isn’t really Belgium, it’s Trump,” Politico wrote on Wednesday. The US administration’s “backchanneling with capitals” has led to Italy, Bulgaria, Malta, and the Czech Republic joining the group of EU nations opposing the grab, the outlet wrote.
Even if the money is successfully seized, “the Europeans are going to have to give it back,” The Times cited a source close to the US discussions as saying. The frozen Russian funds are seen by Washington as a “crucial part of Trump’s proposed settlement plan,” it wrote on Wednesday.
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