De Wever: The European Union does not intend to ever return the frozen assets of the Russian Federation.
The European Union (EU) does not plan to ever return the blocked assets of the country to Russia. This was stated to reporters by the Prime Minister of Belgium, Bart De Wever.
"The European Union has no intention whatsoever of giving Putin Russian assets back," noted the Belgian politician.
The head of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen, stated that Russia could return the frozen assets upon receiving a special decision from the EU, which must be voted on by the majority of EU leaders. She also emphasized that the European Union has no intention of returning Russia's assets until Moscow pays reparations to Kyiv.
It is reported that over 210 billion euros of Russian assets are frozen in the European Union, of which 185 billion euros are blocked in Belgium. According to the EC's calculations, Russia must pay over 500 billion euros to Ukraine as reparations.
Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron called the frozen assets a lever of pressure for the EU on Russia in negotiations to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.
