(Bloomberg) -- The European Union will press forward with a commitment to secure aid for Ukraine from frozen Russian central bank assets regardless of issues raised by the US, the bloc’s top diplomat said.
A Group of Seven agreement to leverage proceeds of the blocked assets has faced delays as Washington seeks firmer assurances that the EU will be able to renew sanctions measures in the face of the opposition from Hungary.
The US wants to ensure that the plan, which aims to generate $50 billion in loans for Kyiv, moves forward before seeking approval from Congress.
“We will do whatever we can to support Ukraine, regardless of decisions in Washington,” Josep Borrell told reporters in Brussels ahead of an EU foreign ministers meeting Thursday when asked about US reluctance. “Ukraine needs to boost their defense capacities — and they need it now.”
Ukrainian officials are growing wary over delays in finalizing the Russian asset deal, Bloomberg reported last week. The G-7 plan, established at a summit in June, foresaw the funds flowing by the end of the year. EU ministers in Brussels will be presented with two options to freeze the Kremlin assets for an extended period in an effort to reassure the US, Bloomberg reported earlier.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who attended the meeting, voiced frustration over delivery delays for military equipment, as he urged member states to send in the air-defense systems they have pledged. Russia continues to pound the war-battered nation’s energy infrastructure as winter approaches.
He obtained pledges of new support and informal nods from most EU members that provided Ukraine with long-range weapons to use them to hit specific targets inside Russian territory, according to Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze.
“Countries committed to new packages for ammunition and energy support,” Braze said in an interview in Brussels.
Kuleba reassured allies that, if granted wider targeting permission, Ukraine would only hit military targets and focus on limiting Russia’s capacity of attack.
“We need bold decisions from our allies, and if you are not able to take these decisions, don’t blame it on Ukraine — blame it on yourselves,” Kuleba told reporters in Brussels.
In a separate interview, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said his country plans to meet its pledge of delivering half a million ammunition shells by the end of the year and plans to launch a new plea to countries for additional support for Ukraine under the so-called Czech initiative.
Borrell also said that he is looking for a way to “circumvent” Hungary’s opposition to unlocking another €6 billion ($6.7 billion) in aid to Ukraine, which was discussed previously by member states.
“We don’t want more weapons in Ukraine, we don’t want more deaths, we don’t want the escalation of the war,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in a Facebook post during the meeting of the envoys.
--With assistance from Zoltan Simon.
(Updates with comments from Latvian, Czech foreign ministers starting in seventh paragraph)
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