Germany has no final position on expropriating Russian assets, FM says

The German government has not yet reached a final position on the possibility of expropriating frozen Russian assets, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said during a press conference in Estonia.

He noted that the use of Russia’s frozen assets to support Ukraine will be discussed at an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Copenhagen on August 29–30. Wadephul emphasised that the discussion will need to address complex legal issues as well as potential implications for financial market stability, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media. 

The minister also reminded that the EU is already using proceeds from the refinancing of illegally blocked Russian assets and indicated that further discussions on the topic will continue.

Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the EU and G7 countries have frozen nearly half of Russia’s foreign currency reserves, amounting to approximately 300 billion euros. 

Over 200 billion euros of these assets are held within the EU, primarily in accounts managed by Belgium’s Euroclear - one of the world’s largest settlement and clearing systems. 

By Sabina Mammadli