BRUSSELS, December 19. /TASS/. The expropriation of frozen Russian assets would damage the European Union more than Russia, due to severe retaliatory measures, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told journalists after the EU summit in Brussels.

"In total, EU private companies’ assets held in Russia exceed Russia’s assets frozen in Europe. Therefore, in the event of Russia’s response, Europe would lose rather than win," Orban explained.

The European Commission aimed to secure approval from EU member states at the summit in Brussels to expropriate approximately 210 billion euros in Russian assets, with 185 billion euros already blocked on the Euroclear platform in Belgium. Brussels rejected the initiative, fearing lawsuits from Russia and damage to the country’s reputation as an international financial hub.

Orban noted that Belgium would agree to such a move "only if other countries would share the risks" and provided unlimited guarantees to compensate for the losses. "Nobody really wanted to," the prime minister added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin previously characterized the proposed confiscation as an act of theft, while Russian Justice Minister Konstantin Chuichenko told TASS that the country’s leadership has already been presented with options for responding to a potential seizure of Russian assets by Western nations.