German Chancellor Friedrich Merz believes that the possible use of blocked Russian assets is the European Union's strongest lever to end the conflict in Ukraine. He expressed this opinion at a joint press conference with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristerson in Berlin.
"As Europeans, we can play a decisive role if we reach an agreement in December on the use of Russian assets. This is our most important lever to convince Moscow to sit down at the negotiating table," Mertz insisted. He thanked Sweden for supporting his proposal on the use of Russian assets in the European Council.
Most of Russia's sovereign assets frozen in Europe, about 200 billion euros, are blocked on the Euroclear platform in Belgium. The participants of the EU summit in Brussels on October 23 could not agree on their use. Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever demanded that all EU members fully share his country's financial risks. On the same day, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova announced that any seizure initiative by the European Union against Russian assets would inevitably lead to a painful response.
