EU remains skeptical about seizing Russia’s frozen assets, Lithuania’s FM says

According to LRT, Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys said this during a radio interview, Ukrinform reports.

“There is still a lot of skepticism in the EU about this, even if one can convince them about the need and why it should be done,” Budrys said.

Last week in Copenhagen, he presented fellow ministers with Lithuania’s proposal to use the Russian central bank’s frozen funds as a loan for Ukraine or transfer them to a special EU-managed fund.

In a written proposal to EU members, Lithuania argued that seizing frozen Russian assets could be justified as a legitimate countermeasure aimed at forcing Moscow to stop its aggression or pay reparations.

Budrys acknowledged his colleagues’ concerns about potential legal and economic consequences, but stressed that Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is a serious violation of international law that requires a response.

“We must share the burden of risk. Let’s outline various measures and move in that direction, because we will need it,” emphasized the Lithuanian foreign minister.

According to international law, such countermeasures should be temporary. Lithuania has therefore suggested two options: providing Ukraine with a loan backed by the frozen assets, or transferring the assets into a special EU fund or a newly created entity that could manage them more actively to generate higher returns.

The EU has frozen approximately €210 billion of assets of the Russian Central Bank. Interest earned from those funds is already being used to support Ukraine, but Budrys believes the money is invested too conservatively to fully maximize its potential benefits.

As reported, the United Kingdom has provided Ukraine with over $1.3 billion (1 billion GBP) in military aid, funded by revenues from frozen Russian assets.