Vladimir Putin Terms EU’s Attempts To Seize Russian Assets As ‘Robbery’ | World News

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday described attempts by the European Union (EU) to seize Russian assets as “robbery”. “Theft is an inappropriate definition. Theft means stealing property secretly. But in this case, they are trying to do it openly. This is robbery,” Russia’s state news agency Tass reported during Putin’s annual question-and-answer session and at the year-end press conference titled ‘Results of the Year’ on Friday.

He warned that seizing Russian assets in Europe would undermine confidence in the euro zone, as many countries, such as Russia, keep their gold and foreign exchange reserves in Europe. Putin said, “There will also be more severe consequences for those who try to do this. This is not only a blow to their image, but in this particular case, a loss of confidence in the Eurozone. This is because, apart from Russia, many other countries also keep their gold and foreign exchange reserves and free resources in Europe.” he said.

Meanwhile, European Union leaders could not reach an agreement on a compensation loan to Ukraine and took a joint loan of 90 billion euros instead of a financing loan. According to Euro News, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia will not be part of the plan.

EU leaders will raise 90 billion euros in joint debt to finance Ukraine over the next two years after failing to make a compensation loan. EU leaders agreed to issue joint debt in exchange for the bloc’s joint budget to keep Ukraine afloat in 2026 and 2027 after they faced an impasse over Belgium’s demand to secure unlimited guarantees before using dormant Russian assets housed in the country.

Before the summit held in Brussels on Thursday, EU leaders claimed that there was no plan B and made efforts to provide a compensation loan to Ukraine, supported by the dormant assets of the Central Bank of Russia. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz led these efforts, but was unsuccessful in providing a loan to Ukraine because Belgium’s demands for unlimited guarantees made this impossible.

After the summit, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, accompanied by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, said that the main goal of providing financing to Ukraine had been achieved.

Speaking to journalists, Frederiksen said: “After today, our support for Ukraine is guaranteed.”

Before the summit, Hungary had stated that it would not accept the EU’s plan to provide compensation loans to Ukraine. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has refused to provide financial support to Ukraine and has repeatedly criticized European leaders for their approach to handling the Russia-Ukraine conflict.