MOSCOW, February 11. /TASS/. Ukraine will include Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture Alexey Sobolev in its delegation for the upcoming peace talks with Russia, Vladimir Zelensky told Bloomberg.
Kiev intends to focus on economic recovery at the next stage of consultations and will integrate Sobolev into its delegation for that purpose, Zelensky said.
In his conversation with the news outlet, Zelensky stated that Ukraine expects the European Union to establish a financial assistance mechanism, emphasizing that even potential funding from frozen Russian assets would be insufficient for the country’s long-term needs.
EU member states are now working to establish legal mechanisms to use frozen Russian assets. The majority of these funds, around 210 billion euros, are held within the EU, with 185 billion euros frozen at Euroclear, the Belgian based financial market infrastructure provider.
Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov previously warned that Moscow would respond decisively if European states confiscate Russian assets. Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova added that Russia’s retaliation would be firm and severe should EU countries use frozen assets to provide "reparation loans" to Ukraine.