BERLIN

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Thursday that frozen Russian assets in Europe should be used to strengthen Ukraine's military capabilities and not to benefit the US.

The use of frozen Russian assets is "also to help Ukraine, possibly for two to three years. We now have to get through the winter in Ukraine. To do that, we need (financial) resources. But we also need resources to potentially support Ukraine in this terrible war for a longer period of time,” Merz told journalists in Berlin

“This is a European matter, and I see, economically, no way of allowing the money we mobilize to go to the US in any form. And the American government knows that. That is the negotiating position of the (German) federal government ... and that is also the consensus at the European level. There are no differences whatsoever on this point. This money must flow to Ukraine and help Ukraine,” he added.

Merz was reacting to suggestions by US President Donald Trump that billions in Russian assets frozen in European countries may be used to the benefit of the US government and companies.

The chancellor’s proposal, first outlined in September, envisages providing Ukraine with a €140 billion ($163 billion) loan backed by frozen Russian assets. According to Berlin, the plan aims to strengthen Kyiv's military capabilities and bring Moscow to the negotiating table.