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Belgian PM Opposes Seizing $201 Billion in Russian Assets, Says Wait for “Peace Talks”
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![Photo of Roman Kohanets]( "Photo of Roman Kohanets")
-111f0e5095e02c02446ffed57bfb0ab1.jpeg "Photo of Roman Kohanets")
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has said that frozen Russian state assets held in Belgium should remain untouched until a negotiated settlement in the war is reached, according to Sky News on August 27.
Speaking at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin, De Wever noted that the assets, largely concentrated at the Brussels-based financial institution Euroclear , represent a significant portion of Russia’s sovereign reserves frozen since 2022.
“A whole lot of these funds are immobilised in Brussels at Euroclear,” he said. “I know that there are governments that are trying to seize the money. But I would like to warn that this is not so easy legally.”
Euroclear currently holds €183 billion (USD 201 billion) of Russian sovereign funds, out of roughly €300 billion (USD 331 billion) frozen in Western jurisdictions. The European Union has already agreed to use interest generated by these funds for Ukraine’s benefit, but outright confiscation remains disputed among member states due to legal and financial risks.
De Wever stressed that Belgium supports Ukraine but argued that moving prematurely to seize Russia’s assets could undermine confidence in European financial institutions. “For now, the best course is to leave the money where it is until peace talks are on the table,” he said.
Earlier, it was reported that the European Union allocated an additional $1.75 billion to Ukraine, drawn from profits (interest) generated by frozen Russian assets held in the EU.
