Belgium warns that the EU’s proposal to use €140 billion in frozen Russian state assets to fund Ukraine could jeopardise prospects for a future peace deal, urging Brussels to proceed cautiously.
00:00Belgium warns that the European Union's plan to use frozen Russian state assets for Ukraine could undermine future peace negotiations.
00:09In a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Prime Minister Bart De Weyver says the proposal could make it harder to reach any eventual peace deal, urging the bloc not to move ahead too quickly.
00:22The European Commission had proposed to tap into about 140 billion euros in frozen Russian sovereign assets.
00:30Belgium withheld support for the plan at last month's EU summit.
00:34That is significant because much of the frozen money sits in Belgian-based clearinghouses.
00:40De Weyver also said Belgium has not seen any draft legal text, even as the Commission prepares to present a formal proposal this week to fund Ukraine through 2026 and 2027.
00:52Ukraine, which depends heavily on external financing nearly four years into the war with Russia,
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