Russia issues chilling WW3 warning at ‘crazy’ Europe over £80bn plan | World | News
The European Union has been warned against seizing £80 billion worth of Russian assets, with a close ally of Vladimir Putin saying the move could be seen by the Kremlin as a “casus belli”. Politician Dmitry Medvedev said Russia would deem the act a direct provocation, leading to “relevant implications” for the bloc.
He said in a statement: “If the crazy European Union does, after all, try to steal Russian assets frozen in Belgium under the guise of a so-called ‘reparations loan’, Russia may well view this move as tantamount to a casus belli with all the relevant implications for Brussels and individual EU countries.”
The European Commission’s plan is to raise nearly £80 billion to help Ukraine by seizing Russian assets or borrowing against the already frozen ones. It marks the biggest financial proposal of the war so far.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the Commission, said the money would cover two thirds of Ukraine‘s funding until 2027.
She said: “We are proposing to cover two-thirds of Ukraine’s financing needs for the next two years. That’s €90 billion. Since pressure is the only language the Kremlin responds to, we can also dial it up.”
Currently, there is at least £180 billion in state and private Russian assets frozen in bank and clearing houses in the EU, which will not be returned if the Commission gets its way.
The biggest proportion of this, roughly £160 billion, is tied up in Euroclear in Belgium. However, the Belgian government said it does not support sending the money to Ukraine in case it becomes legally responsible for the entire amount.
This comes amid ongoing peace talks to end the war, the latest of which involved Russia and the US. Putin met with Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and envoy Steve Witkoff.
Tuesday’s meeting was described as “reasonably good” by the US president, who believes that Putin “would like to end the war”.
Mr Trump added: “I don’t know what the Kremlin is doing. I can tell you that they had a reasonably good meeting with President Putin. We’re going to find out. It’s a war that should have never been started.
“What comes out of that meeting? I can’t tell you, because it does take two to tango.
“He would like to end the war. That was their impression. Now, whether or not you know that was their impression, you know their impression was that they’d like to see he would like to see the war ended.”
