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Latvian Foreign Minister Krišjānis Kariņš thinks frozen Russian assets should be involved in procuring weapons for Ukraine and not only in rebuilding its infrastructure.
He made such a statement during a joint press conference with Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski in Riga, according to Wnp.pl.
Kariņš reiterated that the EU is determined to use profits off frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine in its reconstruction process, they would amount to several billions of euros.
“In my opinion, we should look at it more broadly, not only at profits from assets, but also at the assets themselves […] They are hundreds of billions,” Latvian Foreign Minister Krišjānis Kariņš said on March 27.
As reported, the European Commission strives to use the income from immobilized Russian assets to arm Ukraine. The proposal stipulates that 90% of the funds will be sent to a fund that will cover the costs of procuring weapons for Ukraine. The remaining 10% will be transferred to the EU budget and used to increase the capacities of Ukraine’s own defense industry.
However, some countries oppose the idea of using the funds to supply weapons to Ukraine, they include Hungary and Austria.
Before the EU summit, on March 21, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer told journalists: “There must be a guarantee that money, for which we give our approval, is not spent on weapons and ammunition.”
Read also: Lithuania’s president calls on EU to forward Russian assets to Ukraine ASAP
