“According to Politico, Japan has rejected an offer by the European Union to join its plan to use frozen Russians for the benefit of Ukraine.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama, photo: The Japan Times Source: Politico citing sources
Details: At a meeting of G7 finance ministers on Monday, Tokyo rejected a request from Brussels to support its plans to provide Ukraine with Russian sovereign assets held at the Belgian bank Euroclear.
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With this step, the newspaper writes, Japan destroyed the bloc’s hopes of receiving global support for this initiative.
Two EU diplomats familiar with the discussions told Politico: Japan has made it clear that it cannot use about $30 billion worth of frozen Russian assets held on its territory to extend the loan to Ukraine.
The EU diplomat also told the publication that Japan’s Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama ruled out the possibility of using Russian assets due to legal problems.
However, several officials said that Japan’s position is related to US opposition to the use of Russian assets for the benefit of Ukraine, arguing that Tokyo does not want to ignore its important ally.
We will remind:
- On December 3, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced two decisions regarding the financing of Ukraine in 2026-2027, one of which proposes to use funds from frozen Russian assets in the EU to provide Ukraine with a “reparation loan”.
- Even before the announcement of the new proposal, Belgium – on the territory of which the main part of the Rosactivs in the EU is kept and which is afraid of the legal consequences of the decision – called it categorically unacceptable.
- At the same time, other EU countries oppose Belgium’s provision of unlimited guarantees to unblock the loan to Ukraine.
- According to the media, the British government is ready to transfer 8 billion pounds (over $10.6 billion) of frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine.
Read also the article: The EU is looking for funds for Ukraine: what options can replace the reparation loan.