The key facts
- Radosław Sikorski does not expect an EU agreement on Russian assets before winter
- The main obstacle is Belgium's concerns, where a significant portion of the funds is held
- According to the minister, the European Commission is working on 'creative solutions' to reduce risks
Sikorski does not expect an agreement before winter
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, in an interview with the PAP news agency, expressed doubt that the European Union will manage to agree on the use of frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine before the onset of winter. In his view, the main obstacle remains the concerns of Belgium, on whose territory a significant portion of the blocked funds is held.
The minister's position
“I would not count on an agreement before winter, but the European Commission is working on creative solutions so that Belgium can be confident it will not be left alone with the risk of Russian claims. We believe the risk is small, but the point is to mitigate it anyway,” Sikorski said.
Financing Ukraine and next steps
The Polish minister noted that European countries continue to finance Kyiv from other sources. However, in his opinion, the issue of Russian assets will still have to be raised again, since Ukraine will need further financial support.
The scheme proposed by the EU
As Life.ru reported on October 9, the European Commission is exploring the possibility of creating a special financial structure through which responsibility for potential legal claims could be distributed among EU states. The new scheme is intended to reduce risks for Belgium.
