France, Britain and Germany consider seizing €200 billion of russia's frozen assets

It is noted that France and Germany are discussing with the UK how russian assets can be used to provide Ukraine with security guarantees as part of the development of a plan for a future peace agreement. French officials have proposed to seize the assets if russia tries to violate the future truce.

After the start of russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, G7 allies froze about 300 billion euros of assets of the Central Bank of russia, the newspaper reminds. The vast majority of them - about 190 billion euros - are placed in the Belgian central securities depository Euroclear, while smaller amounts are kept in France, Britain, Japan, Switzerland, and the United States.

Currently, the income from these assets is being used to repay the $50 billion loan provided to Ukraine by the G7 countries, but the underlying assets remain untouched.

Ukraine, Poland, and the Baltic states have long insisted on seizing these assets, but Berlin, Paris, and Brussels have previously refused to do so, fearing that confiscation of state property would set a precedent in international law. The European Central Bank is also concerned that the euro's status as a safe currency for foreign exchange reserves will be jeopardized.

French President Emmanuel Macron said that the immediate seizure of assets would not be “respectful of international law,” but that these funds could be “part of negotiations to end the war.” In turn, future German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he would consider supporting this proposal.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also said that London is considering the possibility of using russian assets, although he called it a complicated issue.

According to reports, the French proposal was well received by other European allies, but it is still far from being agreed upon. The favorable attitude to it was cited after the threats of the administration of US President Donald Trump to stop military support for Ukraine.

Source: Financial Times