Zelensky urged Europe to reach an agreement on using Russia's frozen assets to aid Ukraine

The last EU summit of this year is about to be held. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on European leaders to reach an agreement on using Russia's frozen assets to assist Ukraine during the summit.

Xinhua News Agency reported that Zelensky will attend the EU summit scheduled for Thursday to Friday (December 18-19). In a video address on Wednesday (17th) evening, he made it clear that Ukraine needs genuine protection and security and financial solutions, especially regarding the use of Russia's frozen overseas assets. Kiev needs a political solution.

This summit was held in Brussels, Belgium. It is the last leaders' meeting of the European Union this year and is expected to focus on discussing issues such as aid to Ukraine.

The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Karas, said earlier this week that the EU is discussing multiple options for financing Ukraine, among which the most credible option is the compensation loan plan, which involves providing financing to Ukraine with frozen Russian assets as collateral.

The European Union decided last Friday (the 12th) to indefinitely freeze Russia's frozen assets within the EU and intends to determine the specific usage plan at this summit.

At the summit held in October, EU leaders failed to reach an agreement on the compensation loan plan due to objections raised by countries such as Belgium.

The Russian side has repeatedly opposed the EU's disposal of Russian sovereign assets without its consent and threatened to retaliate.

According to a senior Ukrainian official who told AFP on Wednesday, the US government is pressuring European countries to abandon the idea of using Russia's frozen assets to assist Ukraine.

It is reported that Washington seems to view these assets as key bargaining chips, attempting to induce Russia to cooperate by hinting that it might withdraw some of the funds.

A US official told AFP on the same day that European countries "privately requested" the US to intervene in the matter "because they were reluctant to openly oppose it", fearing that this move would cause lasting damage to the long-term investment of their own systems and the credibility of institutions.

After Russia launched the war against Ukraine in February 2022, Western countries froze about 300 billion US dollars of Russia's overseas assets. Among them, the European Union froze assets worth approximately 210 billion euros of the Central Bank of Russia. About 90% of the Russian assets frozen within the European Union are controlled by the European Bank for Settlements, headquartered in Brussels.