Belgium is considering the possibility of Ukraine using frozen Russian assets, but in such a way that the legal, financial and systemic risks of such a decision are shared with other EU countries, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said during a visit to Kiev today.
"Belgium cannot bear the risk alone of potentially having to return these funds to Russia in 10-15 years," Prevost said, according to Ukrainian public service Suspilne on its website.
210 billion euros of Russian assets have been frozen in the EU, the vast majority of which is in the Belgian securities center Euroclear.
At the end of 2025, Brussels opposed the direct seizure and transfer of these funds to Kiev, calling for a European solidarity mechanism for the distribution of financial guarantees.
"That solidarity never materialized, probably because many other countries also recognized the risks and did not want to share them," Prevost said, pointing out that the risk was unacceptable for the Belgian budget, adding that this position did not reflect a lack of support for Kiev.
He said experts have identified major systemic risks to the stability of European financial markets that must be neutralized before any decision is made on the fate of frozen Russian assets.
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