Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha welcomed a joint letter from the foreign ministers of Sweden, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain asking EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas to put the use of frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine on the agenda of the next informal Gymnich meeting on September 1-2, and said he looks forward to that discussion.
"I am grateful (to the ministers - IFU) for their letter on frozen Russian assets. Russia refuses to end the war and is instead escalating its terror. Ukraine needs to fill the gaps to increase defense spending and reconstruction spending. It is only fair and logical to use Russian assets, not just European taxpayers’ money, to cover the additional defense costs Ukraine and the rest of Europe are incurring due to the Russian threat," Sybiha wrote on X on Friday.
He said he was confident that experts, through professional discussion and analysis, could develop solutions "that comply with European norms, international law and the rule of law, while risks could be mitigated collectively and shared equally, without placing an unfair burden on individual member states."
"I look forward to our discussions with EU colleagues next week to consider ways forward," Sybiha added.
As previously reported, four foreign ministers - Sweden’s Maria Malmer Stenergard, the Netherlands’ Tom Berendsen, Poland’s Radoslaw Sikorski and Spain’s Jose Manuel Albares Bueno - are asking Kallas to put the use of frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine on the agenda of the next informal Gymnich meeting. The letter, dated August 26, is also addressed to Helen McEntee, foreign minister of Ireland, which currently holds the EU presidency, in addition to Kallas. Copies were sent to European Commissioners for Enlargement Marta Kos and Economy Valdis Dombrovskis.
The foreign ministers say there is no sign that Russia is ready to end its aggression, and that the cost of the war is rising, with consequences for EU member states as well, and therefore stress the need for greater financial support for Ukraine in both the short and long term, and that EU support should be predictable and structured. It is in this context that the ministers are asking for the issue of using Russia’s immobilized assets for Ukraine to be revisited. They argue that using these funds would guarantee that Russia pays reparations to Ukraine, while also reducing the burden on EU taxpayers. In addition, it would be a powerful tool for increasing pressure on Russia.
The letter’s signatories note that this is a complex issue and propose inviting European Commission technical experts, in close consultation with member states, to explore new options for using immobilized assets to support Ukraine that would at the same time ensure the risks are borne by all EU member states rather than by a single country (a reference to Belgium, which holds the bulk of the Russian assets - IFU). International law must also be upheld, they say.
The ministers propose that this discussion take place at the next informal meeting of EU member states’ foreign ministers, scheduled for September 1-2.
