Using Russia's frozen assets for Ukraine 'increasingly urgent,' says Germany's Merz

Record ID: 2294819

  • Title: Using Russia's frozen assets for Ukraine 'increasingly urgent,' says Germany's Merz
  • Date: 28th November 2025
  • Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (NOVEMBER 28, 2025) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF GERMAN CHANCELLOR FRIEDRICH MERZ DURING PRESS CONFERENCE WITH SLOVENIAN PRIME MINISTER ROBERT GOLOB  MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN CHANCELLOR, FRIEDRICH MERZ, SAYING: "We are trying to reach a joint solution within the European Union. Before the last Council meeting, I proposed using such a loan against Russia's
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: Belgium Germany Russia Russian frozen assets Slovakia Ukraine
  • Location: BERLIN, GERMANY
  • City: BERLIN, GERMANY
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Europe,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA001569728112025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday (November 28), that it is increasingly urgent to utilize frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine and expressed hope for a European Union agreement on the matter soon.
    "I see the need to do this as increasingly urgent," Merz stated during a press conference in Berlin with Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob. "Ukraine needs our support. Russian attacks are increasing. Winter is approaching, or rather, we are already in winter, and I therefore hope that we can reach a joint solution within the European Union," he added.
    At a summit last month, EU leaders attempted to finalize a plan to use 140 billion euros ($162 billion) in frozen Russian sovereign assets as a loan for Kyiv but failed to gain Belgium's support. Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, in a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen seen by Reuters on Friday, argued that the move could potentially undermine a Ukraine peace agreement.
    (Production: Max Schwarz, Claudia Doerries, Anna Dittrich)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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