The US-drafted Ukraine peace plan could jeopardize the European Union’s plans to use frozen Russian assets to fund financial aid for Ukraine, according to German media.
The European Commission has been seeking to issue a €140 billion loan to Kiev, secured against Moscow’s immobilized funds held at the Euroclear clearing house in Belgium. The scheme is based on the assumption that Russia will eventually pay reparations to Ukraine, although this outcome is widely seen as unlikely.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that the US proposal has not yet been discussed in detail, but suggested that it could eventually form the basis of a final peace settlement.
However, Belgium has expressed concerns about the plan, with an unnamed high-ranking official stating that new risks for the reparations credit are already emerging due to the peace plan’s approach to immobilized Russian assets. The US proposal reportedly allocates $100 billion from frozen Russian assets for US-led reconstruction efforts in Ukraine, while expecting Western Europe to contribute an additional $100 billion, further complicating the EU’s financial aid schedule.
Leaders of the EU, Germany, France, Britain, Canada, the Netherlands, Spain, Finland, Italy, Japan, and Norway issued a joint statement on the sidelines of the G20 summit, acknowledging that the US plan includes important elements for a just and lasting peace, but emphasized that it would require additional work.