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of the European Union funding plan ukraine With €90bn (£79bn) frozen russian assets The former Russian president said it would be regarded as an “act of war” by Moscow. Dmitry Medvedev Said.
Medvedev, who now serves as vice-chairman of Russia’s Security Council, was responding to the plan EU chief Ursula von der Leyen Said will allow on Wednesday Kyiv to rescue [itself] “And pursue peace talks from a position of strength.”
“If the paranoid EU, under the guise of so-called ‘compensation loans’, tries to steal Russian assets frozen in Belgium, Russia may consider this move tantamount to casus belli (an act that justifies war) with all the relevant implications for Brussels and individual EU countries,” he wrote on X.
The former president is known for his Fencing and aggressive rhetoric To the west. Earlier this year, Donald Trump transferred two US nuclear submarines after Medvedev accused him of playing an “ultimatum game” by threatening economic sanctions against Russia, which he described as “a step towards war”.
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Earlier this week, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the plan would cover two-thirds of the money needed to sustain Ukraine’s war effort, with “international partners” financing the rest.
Under the proposal, around £123 billion of Russian state assets held in Belgium would be converted into “compensation loans”.
“Since pressure is the only language the Kremlin responds to, we might as well dial it down,” Ms von der Leyen said. “We must raise the costs of war for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s aggression and today’s resolution gives us the means to do that.”
Belgium, where most of the assets are held by Brussels-based financial institution Euroclear, has expressed legal concerns over the proposals. A senior Belgian official said reuters That the country “cannot accept being asked to bear alone the risks of such an operation”.
Ms von der Leyen stressed that the EU had taken almost all of Belgium’s concerns into account.
Moscow has repeatedly warned that it would consider the seizure of Russian assets an act of theft, but the EU says the plan does not amount to a seizure because the money would simply take the form of a loan. Ukraine would be required to repay the loan only if Russia paid reparations.
There are also concerns that the move could interfere with ongoing US efforts to pressure Kiev and Moscow to agree a peace deal. However, Ms von der Leyen said the repayment loan plan had been “positively received” by US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant.
The Commission said the EU could move forward with the plan if 15 of the 27 member states, representing at least 65 percent of the bloc’s population, voted in favor.