BRUSSELS, September 20. /TASS/. The European Union expects to extend the freeze of assets of the Bank of Russia for three years instead of six months from January 2025, an EU representative told reporters in Brussels.

"The head of diplomacy proposes to leave the six-month period for extending all sanctions, but to extend the freeze of assets of the Russian central bank for 36 months instead of six months," he said. According to the diplomat, this decision will be applied from January 2025.

The European official stressed that for this decision to come into force, all EU countries must unanimously approve it by the end of the year.

On September 13, The Financial Times reported that the permanent representatives of the EU countries will consider the possibility of extending anti-Russian sanctions less frequently than every six months, and their term may be extended to three years. As the publication explained, this is due to the demands of the United States, which is ready to participate in providing a loan to Kiev in the amount of $50 billion at the expense of income from Russian assets as part of the G7, if it receives guarantees that these funds will not be unfrozen in the near future.