EU Pushes for Belgium Approval of Ukraine's Russian Asset Loan
"We will not leave the meeting (on Thursday) before we get results, before we get the decision on the funding for Ukraine. The most credible option is the reparations loan, and this is what we are working on," Kallas told reporters as the EU foreign ministers gathered in Brussels.
The reparations loan framework delivers a "clear signal" that any nation inflicting such destruction on another must finance reconstruction costs, she emphasized.
"Without Belgium, (...) it wouldn't be very easy, because they have the majority of the assets, and I think it's important that they are on board," Kallas stressed.
As ceasefire and peace architecture negotiations advance, Kallas highlighted the imperative for "tangible" security assurances for Ukraine.
"They can't be papers or promises. They have to be real troops, real capabilities so that Ukraine is able to defend itself," she said.
Addressing Russia's insistence that Ukraine withdraw from the Donbas region as a ceasefire precondition, Kallas underscored that the territory represents merely an interim objective for Moscow, not its ultimate aim.
"If it gets Donbas, then the fortress is down, and then they definitely move on with taking the whole of Ukraine," she noted.
Kallas also called for a lasting and sustainable peace, while emphasizing that there shouldn't be "any appeasement of the aggressor."
"If aggression is rewarded, we will see more of it. We have seen this in history, and that is extremely important, and there has to be accountability for the crimes committed," she added.
As the EU advances proposals to leverage frozen Russian state reserves for financing a loan package to Ukraine, multiple member nations including Hungary, the Czech Republic and Italy—alongside primarily Belgium—have voiced legal objections, noting the bulk of assets reside at Euroclear in Brussels.
Russia's central bank denounced the scheme as unlawful and maintained its authority to deploy any countermeasures necessary to safeguard its interests.
On Friday, the bloc authorized measures to "indefinitely immobilize" Russian assets, while EU leaders are set to decide on allocating the funds to Ukraine at a Brussels summit on Dec. 18-19.
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