BRUSSELS, October 24. /TASS/. The statement on Ukraine at the EU summit was supported by 26 out of 27 states and was not included in the final declaration.

The European Council discussed the latest developments in Ukraine. The final statement was firmly supported by the leaders of 26 states. The EU summit will return to discussing this issue at the next meeting (in mid-December - approx. TASS), the summit's final document says.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban did not participate in the discussion on Ukraine, as he arrived in Brussels later. He spoke at a rally of his supporters in Budapest.

A separate document

As a result, the statement on Ukraine was distributed in a separate document. It was assumed that in it the EU countries would support the European Commission's plans to expropriate Russian assets under the guise of a so-called reparation loan to finance Ukraine's military and budgetary needs in 2026-2027, which are estimated at at least 60 billion euros.

However, due to the resistance of Belgium, in whose territory 210 billion euros of sovereign Russian assets are frozen, and which is rightly afraid of Russian retaliation, the wording of the document has been seriously blurred.

It highlights the "firm commitment" of the 26 EU countries to ensure the financing of Ukraine's military and financial needs in 2026 and 2027. It also instructs the European Commission to prepare proposals for this financing by the next EU summit. The document says that the frozen Russian assets will remain so until the end of the conflict and the payment of certain "compensations" by Russia.

Belgian doubts

Before the summit, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever again demanded that all EU countries fully share the financial risks of his country. He also warned that Russia would begin to withdraw Western assets on its territory and in friendly jurisdictions as a response, as a result of which Moscow may benefit, and the affected Western investors will come to the Belgian government for payments.

They will count the losses

As a TASS source explained earlier, the European Commission has no available funds left to finance Kiev in 2026-2027, so it is forced to either appropriate Russia's assets or take out new multibillion-dollar loans. In his opinion, the European Commission will continue to try to push through the asset expropriation plan under the guise of "reparation loans."

Russian ambassador to Belgium Denis Gonchar said in an interview with TASS that any form of appropriation of Russian assets "would be theft." He warned that Russia's retaliatory actions "will follow immediately" and "force the West to count losses.".