Polish FM predicts "happy resolution" on Ukraine reparations loan

Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski believes that EU member states are close to reaching an agreement on providing Ukraine with a "reparations loan" backed by frozen Russian assets, The Guardian reports.

According to Sikorski, "the issue of the use, on behalf of the victim of aggression, of the frozen Russian assets is heading towards a happy resolution."

"It’s very simple, either we use the aggressor’s money or we will have to use our own money. Don’t ask me which I prefer," Sikorsky said.

Under the plan, the Group of Seven (G7) countries would guarantee Ukraine’s debt obligations issued under the scheme — primarily to reassure Belgium, where most of the Russian central bank’s frozen reserves have been held since the start of the full-scale war.

Although the United Kingdom does not hold a large volume of Russian assets directly, it will also participate in the mechanism, according to The Guardian.Negotiations are ongoing among the G7 members — including the United States — over their respective shares in providing these guarantees.

The U.S. controls only a small portion of Russia’s frozen banking assets — about $7 billion — so Washington’s participation would be politically and legally significant, though not economically decisive.

• The proposal for a reparations loan of up to €140 billion, backed by the frozen Russian reserves held in Western jurisdictions since the 2022 invasion, was first raised on September 10.
• European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, who has repeatedly opposed the outright confiscation of Russian assets, said on October 6 that any such reparations loan must be legally watertight.
• The European Parliament has since urged EU member states to swiftly endorse the European Commission’s proposal to move forward with the plan.