Minister of Finance G. Skaistė: “Russia’s Frozen Assets Should be Used for the Reconstruction of Ukraine“
At the ECOFIN meeting in Brussels Minister of Finance Gintarė Skaistė initiated a joint statement by the Ministers of Finance of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia calling for Russia’s frozen assets to be used as one of the main sources for Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction.
According to G. Skaistė, the international community should give a clear message that Russian military aggression is not tolerated and that the aggressor will have to cover the damage caused to Ukraine.
“The reconstruction of Ukraine will require enormous funds. The aggressor Russia must be held accountable for its actions and pay for the damage caused. The European Union, along with Western partners, has frozen a significant part of Russia’s assets, ranging from the reserves of the country’s central bank to the assets of sanctioned individuals. This is a good first step, but now we have to take the second one — create mechanisms allowing to use these frozen funds as one of the sources for the reconstruction of Ukraine. Together with the like-minded countries, we urge the European Commission to come forward with the necessary legal proposals in the near future, to mobilise international partners and to work together to find the right solutions”– said Minister of Finance G. Skaistė.
In addition, according to the Minister, Russia’s war against Ukraine must face tougher economic and financial sanctions — Lithuania supports the 6th package of sanctions presented for negotiations, which includes sanctioning of additional Russian banks and Russian oil embargo, and calls for reaching an agreement on its adoption as soon as possible.