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EU working group looking for ways to use Russian assets for Ukraine — Swedish minister

As Minister Jessica Roswall noted, "it is difficult in many ways"

MADRID, April 20. /TASS/. A working group that has been specially set up by the European Union, is already working on finding ways to use Russia’s frozen assets to rebuild Ukraine, the Swedish Minister for European Affairs Jessica Rosvall said in an interview with Spain’s La Razon newspaper published on Thursday.

"Sweden’s chairmanship [in the EU Council] has mainly focused on supporting Ukraine," she said. "Nevertheless, introducing sanctions against Russia and getting rid of our reliance on Russian energy resources is important not only for Ukraine, but also for our own security," the minister noted. "That is why we will push forward with our efforts, for example, to match the crime with the punishment for sanctions evasion," she added.

The Swedish presidency also has an initiative for "a special working group that is now working on finding ways to use frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine’s reconstruction," Rosvall said, adding that "it is complicated in many ways."

Sweden is part of a group of countries that are working on creating an international court for prosecuting "crimes of aggression," the minister noted. "A principal step in this work is the creation in the Hague of the International center for court prosecution of crimes of aggression so that prosecutors can coordinate their work more easily," she said.

"Sweden will continue making efforts to join NATO before the Vilnius summit in July," Rosvall said. "Finland’s entry will not affect Sweden’s security," she stressed.