Kyiv is looking for new ways to get cash as it faces a significant budget shortfall.
DUBLIN — Ukraine wants European countries to reopen the debate over frozen Russian state assets, suggesting a partial disbursement and broader guarantees could help break the deadlock with Belgium, which vetoed the plan in December.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Vsevolod Chentsov said the country was discussing several options with European partners to cover gaps in its defense and civilian budgets. Front-loading part of the EU’s €90 billion loan for Ukraine could help, he said, but would not be the only solution.
“We are looking also to the opportunities in the EU and we suggest, in particular, the idea of the frozen assets,” Chentsov said on the sidelines of an informal meeting of European affairs ministers in Dublin on Friday. “It’s a smart way to generate money and cover the debt.”
Using Russia's immobilized state assets to help fund Ukraine returned to the EU agenda after the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Sweden last month called on the European Commission to explore “new options” for unlocking them.
