In addition, he will announce an additional contribution of over €1 million for demining operations in Ukraine through the OSCE.

At the meeting of the Council of Ministers of the OSCE in Lodz, options for the transfer of frozen and confiscated assets of the Russian Federation for the reconstruction of Ukraine will be considered.

This was  announced  by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell before the two-day meeting of the OSCE Council of Ministers in the Polish city of Lodz. He emphasized that Russia cannot conquer Ukraine, and that’s why it staged missile terror.

“Their goal is to plunge the Ukrainian people into darkness and cold for the winter. This is a war crime,” Borrell was indignant. 

According to him, at the upcoming meeting they plan to discuss the way to a new security order, because “Russia has completely broken the one we had.” The work will be carried out in three directions:

• support of the International Criminal Court, the Ukrainian prosecutor and the creation of a special tribunal;
• attraction of blocked and confiscated Russian funds for the reconstruction of Ukraine;
• communication with the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia. 

“At this meeting, I will present our support – the support of the European Union – the OSCE and Ukraine. I will announce an additional contribution of more than 1 million euros for demining operations in Ukraine through the OSCE,” added the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

Borrell added that almost 20 billion euros were seized from oligarchs and people who support Russia.

“In addition, we control about 300 billion euros of financial resources of the Central Bank of Russia. These funds should be used to rebuild Ukraine… We will explore all legal options to make sure that Russia pays for the destruction it is causing to Ukraine. These reserves are blocked , but there is a big difference between blocking and confiscation. There are legal procedures to be studied, but our proposal is on the table,” the diplomat added.

Frozen Russian assets

On October 20, Great Britain  froze Russian assets  worth 20 billion dollars.

In the USA, the Democrats offered to finance Ukraine with the seized assets of the Russian Federation , but the Republicans opposed it.

On October 31, the Czech authorities  announced  their intention to confiscate Russian property and provide 20 million dollars annually for the reconstruction of Ukraine.

At the same time, the Office of the President of Ukraine urged Western partners to stop looking for excuses and  hand over frozen Russian assets to Ukraine.

(C)UNIAN 2022