Parliament of Estonia passed Act enabling use of Russia’s frozen assets as compensation for war damage in Ukraine

Session Hall of the Riigikogu, 2013. Photo: Paul Kuimet

On May 15, Estonia’s Parliament approved the act that would allow the use of the assets of persons in Russia that are immobilized due to international sanctions to contibute them to Ukraine’s recovery.

This was reported by the official website of the Riigikogu.

“Russia is an aggressor state, and the burden of compensating the war damage caused by it cannot be left to Ukraine and its allies. Russia is responsible for causing the damages and must bear that responsibility, ” Chairman of the Constitutional Committee of the Riigikogu Hendrik Johannes Terras said.

65 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Act and 3 members didn’t support it.

The Act on Amendments to the International Sanctions Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts was initiated by the Government to create a national mechanism to hold the aggressor state acccountable for the damage “caused by the most serious violations of international law”. It will enable the use of assets of individuals and companies involved in such violations which have been frozen under sanctions, as an advance payment Russia would owe to Ukraine.

“We’re one step closer to setting a historic precedent in Europe,” Kaja Kallas commented on the news, adding she hopes the president would soon “announce it as a law”.

Earlier, the Riigikogu officially declared the Moscow Patriarchate an institution that contributes to Russia’s military aggression.

Read also: “This is a step forward”: the EU approved the use of income from frozen assets of the Russian Federation in favor of Ukraine