EU leaders fail to decide on Russia's frozen assets
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The EU leaders also urged increased measures to combat Russian sanctions evasion and the preparation of additional restrictions on Belarus, Iran, and DPRK.
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European Parliament President Roberta Metsola speaks during a media conference at an EU Summit in Brussels (AP)
According to the findings of Thursday's meeting, EU leaders have failed to reach an agreement on Russia's frozen assets and have directed authorities to continue working on the matter.
According to the document, the European Council assessed progress on the next tangible measures toward transferring exceptional profits from Russia's frozen assets to Ukraine's advantage, including the prospect of supporting military help.
"It invites the Council to take work forward on recent proposals by the High Representative and the Commission," the statement detailed.
The EU leaders also urged increased measures to combat Russian sanctions evasion and the preparation of additional restrictions on Belarus, Iran, and DPRK.
Furthermore, EU leaders decided to accelerate vital military supplies for Ukraine at a "critical moment."
Last month, EU leaders were still undecided about using frozen Russian assets for Ukraine's reconstruction.
The Russian Foreign Ministry asserted in an interview for RIA Novosti that the EU’s plan to seize the profits from frozen Russian assets and transfer them over to Ukraine would be considered a breach of international law.
“[The EU’s] invention of openly fraudulent schemes for the seizure of income from Russian assets is dictated by the need to create the illusion of legitimacy over attacks on our property and thereby camouflage what is an outright theft,” the Ministry stated.
It added that EU members "clearly do not want to continue paying for the doomed ‘Ukrainian project’ from their own wallets," which is "why they are so tempted by the idea of spending funds stolen from our country to support the Zelensky regime."
This comes after former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev declared that Moscow will seek "revenge" for the Western sanctions, a day after the EU revealed a 13th set of sanctions against Russia.
"The reason (behind the sanctions) is clear: the worse it is for Russian citizens, the better it is for the Western world," Medvedev said on social media, adding, "We all just need to remember this and take revenge on them wherever possible. They are our enemies."
He urged Russians to "create difficulties in the economy for (the West) and foment public unhappiness towards the incompetent policies of Western authorities."
