USA urges EU to oppose 'reparation loan' to Ukraine – media
The United States has appealed to European countries not to approve the allocation of a "reparation loan" to Ukraine at the expense of frozen Russian assets, Washington believes that these funds should be a lever for reaching a peace agreement, and not a tool for continuing the war, Bloomberg reports, citing European diplomats familiar with the situation.
"The US lobbied several countries in the European Union in an effort to block EU plans to use frozen Russian central bank assets to back a massive loan to Ukraine," Bloomberg reported on Friday.
US officials argued to member states that the assets are needed to help "secure a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow and should not be used to prolong the war," said the diplomats, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The US State Department press service did not respond to a request for comment.
Politico previously reported on the US’s negative stance on the issue. "When EU sanctions envoy David O’Sullivan visited Washington in the summer, US officials made it clear to him that their plan was to return Russian assets after any peace plan was signed," the publication reported.
However, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen previously stated that the United States had responded positively to the proposal to provide Ukraine with a reparations loan based on Russian immobilized assets.