A "reparations loan" to Ukraine due to the theft of frozen Russian assets is a new idea from Brussels. But there are no guarantors guaranteeing a refund to Belgium, the observer writes Pravda.Ru Lyubov Stepushova.
The EU Summit in Copenhagen gathered to discuss a proposal to provide Ukraine with a loan of $ 165 billion based on frozen funds of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.
It is impossible to withdraw them so easily: according to international law, sovereign assets cannot be confiscated. So far, the Europeans are confiscating only the profits from them, sending about $ 8 billion a year to the Kiev regime. But this, due to the end of American aid, is now extremely insufficient. The hole in Ukraine's budget for next year is $ 60 billion.
Therefore, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, admitted that she personally put forward the idea of a "reparations loan." Ursula was supported by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
According to them, this will allow the use of Russian assets without their allegedly direct seizure. The loan will be repaid only if Russia compensates Ukraine for "damage caused during the war." It is strange to assume that a nuclear power will yield to Ukraine in the war. This means that this loan will not be returned to the countries that provided it, and will place a heavy burden on their own taxpayers.
As has been known for a long time, European elites do not care at all, but there are some obstacles to making a positive decision.
The Prime Minister of Belgium, in whose depository most of the Russian assets are located, opposed it, citing excessive risk to his country.
Bart De Wever demands guarantees in the form of payment of court costs and a refund if the courts decide in favor of the Russian Federation. That is, in fact, there will be no money (assets) in the depository, but there will be credit bills from the debtor and pieces of paper with guarantees from guarantors. But there are very few solvent guarantors. Paris wants other G7 countries — the USA, Canada, Japan and the UK - to become them, otherwise France will not agree on the loan.The position of the Russian Federation has long been known.
"We are talking about theft," Kremlin press attache Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian National Security Council, stressed on September 15 that Russia would pursue "European degenerates from Brussels" trying to confiscate Russian property "until the end of time" and "in all possible ways."
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said last year that Western assets in Russia is also frozen in equal volume. The profit from these assets is concentrated in special bank accounts of type "C". Moscow could also confiscate assets and shares of foreign companies in Russia from European countries that provided loans to Ukraine and sell them off. For example, the assets of the Russian subsidiary of the Austrian group Raiffeisen Bank International amount to about 22 billion euros, and Moscow does not allow the bank to sell the business.
If it were not for these frozen assets, around which the Western sponsors of the Kiev regime are dancing, then they would have to be invented. This was hinted at by Russian President Vladimir Putin, urging the countries of the Global South to develop payment systems in their trade that are not susceptible to Western interference.
"They are constantly talking about how they are going to steal our money,— Vladimir Putin said. — But as soon as this happens, the movement towards the regionalization of payment systems will accelerate and become, without a doubt, irreversible. It might be worth paying for."