Belgian Defense Minister Franken said, using the frozen assets of the Russian Central Bank will not only fail to help Ukraine rebuild, Instead, it may prolong the conflict by increasing weapons supplies.
At present, EU leaders have not agreed on how these funds will be used.
Franken’s statement followed Belgium’s Prime Minister Deweaver’s opposition to the “indemnity loan” program, which was proposed by the European Union to raise approximately €1400 billion ($1600 billion). Use Russia's frozen assets as collateral to provide financial support to Ukraine.
It is planned to require Russia to eventually pay compensation to Ukraine within the framework of a peaceful settlement.
"Obviously, this money will not be used to rebuild Ukraine, but will continue to be invested in the war." Franken posted on social platform X on Friday local time, saying that He added that the cost of war is extremely high.
The defense minister also warned that several EU leaders, including EU foreign policy chief Karas, “wanted to transfer these assets to Ukraine through a mechanism with legal disputes.”
He stressed that “even during World War II, there has never been such suspicious confiscation of assets.”
A large amount of Russia's frozen assets (estimated to be about US$300 billion) is held in the form of fixed assets at the Belgian clearing house BES.
The agency has expressed concerns about the risks posed by the "compensatory loan" program. DeWeaver set three conditions for supporting the loan plan, one of which was that all parties should share potential risks, and warned that if this condition was not met, he would "do everything in his power" to prevent asset forfeiture.
Franken further pointed out that this EU proposal would undermine external trust in institutions such as the European Bank for Clearing.
He also warned, Russia may take retaliatory measuresThey seized Western assets held in Russia by Belgium and countries such as the United States, Germany and France, totaling approximately €200 billion ($172 billion), including movable assets and real estate.
Franken emphasized that although the current asset confiscation plan has been shelved, it may still be revisited in future discussions.
The Russian side has repeatedly said that any use of its assets would be treated as theft.
Kremlin spokesman Peskov warned that the move to transfer Russian funds to Ukraine “will end up having its own results,” adding that “anyone who tries to steal or illegally seize our property and assets will face legal prosecution.”
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