BRUSSELS, April 18. /TASS/. The European Union intends to invest the first 2.5-3 billion euros from profits from Russia's seized assets in military aid for Ukraine, President of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen, told at a press conference following the EU summit.
When asked whether she agrees with President of the European Central Bank (ECB) Christine Lagarde that the use of profits from Russian assets may violate the international legal order, von der Leyen replied:
"I think that the decision has been taken by the member-states - all 27 have agreed that we use the windfall profits following our proposal and if we work at the pace we are working right now, the first payments from these windfall profits that we estimate in the first year around 2.5-3 billion euros a year, might be accessible and can be invested in supporting Ukraine in the military need it had," she said.
Earlier, the Financial Times reported that ECB President Christine Lagarde said that Washington's intention to issue long-term debt to finance Ukraine using future income from investing Russian assets frozen in the West carries legal risks.
At an informal summit in Brussels, the heads of state and government of the European Union called for the prompt adoption of the European Commission's proposal to use profits from Russia's frozen assets for Ukraine.
The EU, US, Japan and Canada seized Russia's assets in the amount of about $300 billion after the start of the special military operation. Of this, about $5-6 billion is located in the United States, and most of it is in Europe, including the Euroclear international platform in Belgium. Earlier, British Deputy Foreign Secretary Nusrat Ghani said that the G7 countries would put forward new proposals on ways to transfer seized Russian assets to Ukraine ahead of the summit scheduled for June. The European Commission previously approved a proposal to use proceeds from blocked Russian funds to provide assistance to Kiev.
As EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said, this initiative provides for the transfer of 90% of the Russian Federation’s revenues for the purchase of shells for Ukraine and the transfer of 10% to the EU budget for subsequent support of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex. The first deductions can be made as early as July.
The Bank of Russia’s Chief, Elvira Nabiullina, said that if the West uses frozen Russian assets, the Bank of Russia will take appropriate measures to protect its interests.