Germany: EU must agree on frozen Russian assets to strengthen Ukraine's leverage

BERLIN

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday urged EU members to reach an agreement on using frozen Russian assets by next month to strengthen Ukraine's position in potential negotiations with Moscow to end the war.

Speaking at a joint news conference with Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal in Berlin, Merz said Europeans view US efforts to end the war in Ukraine positively but emphasized that Kyiv must not be forced into unilateral territorial concessions and must be given reliable security guarantees by its Western partners.

"We want to continue increasing the pressure on Russia together with our European and transatlantic partners so that Russia finally comes to the negotiating table and is willing to engage in talks," Merz said.

He reminded reporters of his proposal to use €140 billion ($162 billion) in immobilized Russian assets to strengthen Ukraine’s military capabilities.

"We want to make even greater use of these assets to support Ukraine. I submitted a proposal to this effect in September. This proposal was taken up by the European Commission and is also supported by the vast majority of EU members," Merz told reporters.

"We both agree that we must quickly reach an appropriate agreement by the EU leaders' summit in December at the latest to strengthen our negotiating position and send another signal of solidarity and support to Ukraine," he added.