"We have a political agreement": Borrell assures that the EU is close to a decision on frozen Russian assets

The European Union is close to a common political decision on the assets of the aggressor country Russia frozen in the West. Options for using the proceeds of Russian assets have been discussed by EU foreign ministers, and discussions will continue at the ambassadorial level.

This was announced on January 22 by EU High Representative Josep Borrell. He touched upon this topic at a press conference in Brussels (Belgium). The event was broadcast by the European External Action Service on X (Twitter).

"On the blocked Russian assets. I think we can say that we have political agreement to complete this work on the basis of the proposals we presented in December, with a focus on accruals. At this time, we are talking about accruals, about interest income, and I am convinced that this will be finalized soon," Borrell said.

The diplomat did not specify what timeframe this might be. At the same time, he claims that "the deal is getting closer".

"A very strong push for these decisions should be made before the next meeting of the [EU] Foreign Affairs Council," the head of European diplomacy added. The meeting he was referring to is scheduled for February 19, 2024.

As OBOZ.UA previously reported:

- Earlier, US Special Representative for Ukraine's Economic Recovery Penny Pritzker explained that the process of confiscating Russian assets would require a collective decision by all countries that have frozen Russian funds in their financial institutions. It will take time, so we should not expect it to happen quickly.

- The International Monetary Fund has stated that decisions to confiscate Russian assets should be made by the relevant authorities in the countries where they are located. The IMF will monitor developments to assess the impact on the international financial system.

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