MNI BRIEF: Baltic States Take Aim At E300Bn Russian CB Assets

Brussels should look at legal ways to seize up to EUR300 billion in frozen Russian central bank assets and use them to fund Ukrainian reconstruction in a “solid basis for reconstruction", a paper published Tuesday by the EU's Baltic State countries argues. Finance Minister Giintare Skaiste of Lithuania said assets frozen by a 'coalition of the willing' could be treated as ‘war reparations’.

She urged the EU not to delay a sixth package of sanctions, which would include an oil embargo, saying it could push an already weakened Russia to sue for peace.

The comments come ahead of next week’s EU summit, which is set to discuss how to fund post-war reconstruction of Ukraine. EU finance ministers are also set to approve trade preferences for Ukraine today, allowing tariff-free trade between the EU and the country.