Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban continues to reject the idea of extending sanctions against Russia, undermining the allocation of new loans to Ukraine using Moscow’s frozen assets and potentially paving the way for US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to drop Ukraine funding if re-elected, according to Politico.
The European Union votes on extending sanctions on Russia every six months, with EU envoys agreeing in October to provide a $35 billion euro loan to Kiev, backed by interest earned on frozen Russian assets. In order to ease the burden on European countries, the US is ready to work together to fund Kiev if sanctions on Moscow are extended every three years.
This idea has been met with resistance from Orban, who opposes changing the EU’s approach to the frozen assets of Russia’s Central Bank before the US presidential election. We are putting pressure on him, but so far Orban is not caving,” an unnamed EU diplomat told Politico.
Orban’s decision may stem from his desire to support Trump, whom he reportedly sees as his ally. Earlier, the ex-US president announced plans to cut off free aid to Kiev if he wins the White House. Given Orban’s stance, the current US administration is considering reducing its commitment to Ukraine funding. Meanwhile, many European countries are unwilling to make up for the declining US share as they are facing budget deficit issues.
Most of Russia’s frozen sovereign assets, worth some 220 billion euros, remain under the jurisdiction of EU member states. The European Commission’s decision to seize revenues from Russia’s sovereign assets is based on its January 2024 ruling saying that revenues from the reinvestment of immobilized assets allegedly don’t belong to Moscow. Most experts, both in Russia and abroad, see the claim as legally null and void.