“Russia will do everything to try to get its frozen assets back, but today the EU is in control,” Zelensky told The Insider
The U.S. has proposed that European countries unfreeze some Russian assets — turning them over to Washington’s control as part of an effort to get Moscow to resume peace talks — the Financial Times reported on Oct. 15. According to the outlet’s four sources, the proposal was discussed at a meeting in Miami attended by representatives of the U.S., Ukraine, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told The Insider that Russia will do "everything" to try to reclaim its frozen assets, but emphasized that the European Union currently holds the reins of control. According to the U.S., European countries are being urged to unfreeze some Russian assets and turn them over to Washington in hopes of persuading Moscow to reengage in peace talks.
This proposal was reportedly discussed at a meeting in Miami involving representatives from the U.S., Ukraine, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the EU, and NATO.
However, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pushed back against the unfreezing of Russian funds, asserting that those assets "are frozen in Europe and they should remain frozen in Europe. This is our business and we are deciding over it." When questioned about the frozen assets, Zelensky confirmed his discussions with Belgium and other EU leaders, expressing gratitude for their involvement.
He acknowledged the risk that Russia might employ intermediaries to convince Belgium to agree to unfreezing the assets, stating that "Russia will do everything it can to retrieve the frozen assets through one partner or another."
In September, the European Commission began reviewing scenarios for seizing the frozen assets of the Russian Central Bank held in Europe. One option includes establishing a separate structure to transfer these assets, including those presently stored at Belgium's depository Euroclear, which holds €200 billion worth of frozen Russian funds. Prior to this, an attempt to utilize frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine was rejected by Belgium.
Euroclear has been leveraging the interest generated by these frozen assets since February 2024 to support the European Fund for Ukraine. Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot acknowledged the EU's willingness to use the frozen assets but stressed that other EU states must shoulder the associated risks. Prévot warned that if Belgium were to face legal action from Russia, it would bear the burden of the €200 billion in frozen assets, equivalent to a year's worth of the federal budget, leading to Belgium's bankruptcy.
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