Washington’s proposal is reportedly jeopardizing the timeline for new financial assistance from Brussels to Kiev, Handelsblatt has reported
The US-drafted Ukraine peace plan could potentially “torpedo” the European Union’s efforts to utilize frozen Russian assets for funding Kiev, the German newspaper Handelsblatt has reported.
The European Commission has been exploring a scheme to provide Kiev with a €140 billion ($160 billion) loan, secured against Moscow’s immobilized funds held at the Euroclear clearing house in Belgium. This initiative relies on the assumption that Russia will eventually pay reparations to Ukraine, an outcome broadly considered improbable.
Moscow has declared that it considers any deployment of its assets to be “theft” and has pledged to contest such actions in court. Belgium has also voiced opposition to the plan, insisting that all EU member states partake in the financial and legal risks involved.
In its article on Friday, Handelsblatt quoted an unnamed senior Belgian official, who stated that “new risks for the reparations credit are already emerging. This is because the peace plan introduced this week proposes an alternative use for the immobilized Russian assets.”
The official further indicated that the American proposal for resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict “would compel the EU to repay all diverted Russian funds.”
While the plan has not been officially revealed, media outlets have reported that it proposes allocating $100 billion of the $300 billion in frozen Russian assets for US-led reconstruction efforts in Ukraine, with the remaining funds invested in collaborative projects between Washington and Moscow. Additionally, the White House reportedly anticipates Western Europe contributing an extra $100 billion for Ukraine’s reconstruction.
Handelsblatt observed that the plan’s appearance has already put at risk the schedule for delivering the new financial aid that the EU pledged to Kiev and that Kiev “urgently needs.”
On the sidelines of the G20 summit on Saturday, leaders from the EU, Germany, France, Britain, Canada, the Netherlands, Spain, Finland, Italy, Japan, and Norway issued a joint declaration, stating that the US proposal “includes important elements that will be essential for a just and lasting peace,” while also noting that it would “require additional work.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated on Friday that the American plan has not yet been deliberated “in detail,” but he suggested it could eventually “form the basis of a final peace settlement.”