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The United States has fully backed the European Union’s proposal to use frozen Russian sovereign assets as a tool to support Ukraine and help bring an end to the war, UATV English reports, according Reuters.
Under the EU plan, governments would be able to make available up to €185 billion of about €210 billion in Russian sovereign assets frozen in Europe — without formally confiscating them — to finance a large-scale support package for Ukraine. A senior U.S. official told Reuters Washington “absolutely supports the EU and the steps it is taking to be able to use these assets as an instrument.”
“The United States absolutely supports the EU and the steps it is taking to be able to use these assets as an instrument,” a U.S. official said to Reuters.
The initiative is currently stalled over Belgian concerns: most of the frozen assets are held in Belgium, and Brussels has raised legal and financial risk questions. Belgian authorities have also faced pressure after recent drone incidents over airports and military bases there, which some in Germany warned might be read as a message from Moscow aimed at deterring moves on the frozen assets; Russia has denied involvement and warned of a “painful response” if its assets are seized.
The EU’s proposals are part of a broader push to find ways to finance Ukraine’s defence and reconstruction without relying solely on member states’ budgets. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has previously described a €140 billion “reparation loan” backed by frozen Russian assets as a legal and reliable way to hold Russia to account for wartime damage.
