UK’s Secretary of State: Frozen Russian assets to dominate NATO summit talks

UK’s Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs David Lammy has announced that the future use of frozen Russian assets will be a key topic at the upcoming NATO summit on June 24.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Lammy emphasised ongoing cooperation with European allies, noting that some countries are more vulnerable to the issue than the UK, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.

He explained that it was important to give newly formed European governments time to familiarise themselves with the complex technical aspects involved.

Lammy said that they continue pressing and will keep pressing on the matter, adding that discussions about the frozen assets would be included among the agenda items at the NATO meeting.

Since the beginning of Russia’s special military operation in 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. The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly condemned the freezing of Russian assets in Europe, describing it as theft. Moscow asserts that the EU’s actions target not only private funds but also Russia’s state-owned assets.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has warned that Russia will retaliate against the West’s confiscation of frozen Russian assets. He added that Russia could also refuse to return funds held by Western countries in Russian banks.

By Naila Huseynova