Ukrainian president declared on the sidelines of the summit that he expects ‘a political decision’ that will be positive to help his country and that will be like a ‘reparation loan’
The president of, , urged this Thursday (23) the leaders of the meeting at a summit to approve a plan to use frozen Russian assets to grant a huge loan to his country.
Zelensky this Thursday celebrated the decision of the EU to impose sanctions on the oil sector and stated that it was a “strong” message to put pressure on the president to end the war. This is the most direct pressure measure imposed by the American president, to pressure Russia since his return to Russia, announced after the failure of plans to hold a new summit with Putin in Hungary.
Now, the Ukrainian president’s next objective is for European leaders to reach an agreement to grant a loan of 140 billion euros (875 billion reais) to his country using the assets of the Central Bank of Russia frozen in the EU.
Zelensky declared on the sidelines of the summit that he expects “a political decision” that will be positive to help his country and that will be like a reparation loan”. Ukrainian also stated that “Russia brought war to our country and has to pay for this war”.
The president of the European Council, António Costa, declared himself optimistic upon his arrival at the summit and stated that he hopes that “a political decision will be reached that guarantees Ukraine’s financial needs for 2026 and 2027”. For the bloc of 27, the reticence of Belgium, where the majority of Russian assets are frozen, must be overcome.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has threatened to block the process if the risks are not shared. “The consequences cannot fall solely on Belgium” if Russia goes to court.
Putin rules out significant impact of sanctions
The US sanctions include freezing all assets of Russian oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil in the United States, as well as banning all companies from doing business with these two Russian oil giants. The penalties sent oil prices soaring more than 5% on Thursday, fueling fears of tensions in the supply of black gold.
Trump’s efforts to end the conflict have yielded no results and Russia continues to bomb Ukraine. At least three people died this Thursday in Russian attacks in Ukraine, two of them journalists, authorities and local media outlet Freedom TV said.
Putin ruled out that the announced sanctions would have a significant impact on the Russian economy. “There will be consequences, but not a significant impact on our economic well-being,” said the president.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the imposition of sanctions a “counterproductive” step but said her country “has developed strong immunity against Western restrictions.” China has declared that it “opposes” American sanctions.
Ghost fleet
Furthermore, Putin stated that he will continue with the “dialogue”, even with Trump announcing a postponement of the planned meeting between the two in Hungary to end the conflict. However, the Russian leader threatened a forceful response if Russian territory is attacked with American Tomahawk missiles, a type of weapon that Ukraine requests from Washington. “If this type of weapon is used to attack Russian territory, our response will be blunt, not to say surprising,” he warned.
The EU sanctions package includes a total ban on imports of natural gas from Russia until 2026 and additional measures against the so-called ghost fleet of tankers that Moscow allegedly uses to evade sanctions from Western countries.
The oil trade attributed to this ghost fleet represents “more than 30 billion euros” (35 billion dollars or 188 billion reais) to Russia’s budget and finances, “between 30% and 40% of its war effort” against Ukraine, denounced the French president, .
Greater collective pressure on Moscow could “change Putin’s calculations” and “bring him to the negotiating table” with a view to a ceasefire, estimated NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. “I am absolutely convinced of this, maybe not today or tomorrow, but we will do it,” he said during his visit to the White House.
*With information from AFP
Published by Nátaly Tenório
