“The debate is not yet over. But there are some steps forward. (&) Now the question is whether the interest can be used for the reconstruction of Ukraine. And if so, from which year should the profit be taken – the current year, the years following the beginning of the war, or even earlier,” Gabrielius Landsbergis told reporters on Friday, after his meeting with Marija Pejčinović Burić, secretary general of the Council of Europe.
The minister said he trusted the solution would be found.
“The G7 political declaration was the first that set the political tone in that direction,” Landsbergis stated.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe unanimously adopted a resolution on Tuesday calling for frozen Russian assets to be transferred to a new fund to reconstruct Ukraine and compensate victims. It agreed on the establishment of an International Compensation Mechanism for that purpose.
In March, the European Union’s (EU) top diplomat Josep Borrell proposed that the EU spend 90% of the proceeds of the Russian assets frozen in the EU to buy arms for Ukraine, with the remaining 10% earmarked for rebuilding the country.
If the proposal is accepted, Ukraine could receive EUR 2.6 billion as early as 2024, with the first billion reaching Kyiv in July.
The Russian central bank’s assets currently frozen in Belgium are valued at EUR 190 billion.