Kallas: frozen assets cannot be returned to Russia after ceasefire without reparations
30 August 11:12
The assets of the Central Bank of Russia frozen in the European Union after a ceasefire or peace agreement is established cannot be returned to Russia until it pays reparations to Ukraine.
According to Yevropeiska Pravda, this was stated by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas before the start of an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Copenhagen on August 30, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
Kallas is convinced that frozen assets should not be returned to Russia until it pays compensation to Ukraine for the damage caused by the war.
“We see that Russia does not want peace, although many diplomatic efforts are being made to bring Zelenskyy and Russia to the negotiating table. In this context, since this issue is constantly arising, we will have a detailed discussion of the issue of frozen assets,” Kallas announced one of the topics of today’s meeting.
She added that “there are certain sensitive aspects” regarding the frozen assets of the Russian Federation, but “we really need to have a reasoned discussion about it” in order to have a “strategy for getting out of the situation.”
“We cannot even imagine that in the event of a truce or peace agreement, these assets will be returned to Russia if it has not paid reparations,” the EU high representative emphasized.
As a reminder, the EU may create a fund to facilitate the transfer of nearly €200 billion in Russian assets for the reconstruction of Ukraine.
