Finding a legal way to use frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine remains "far from easy," Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Wednesday ahead of a summit of European Union leaders in Brussels, UNN reports with reference to Reuters.
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Addressing parliament, Meloni said Italy supported efforts to make Moscow bear the costs of the invasion of Ukraine, but warned that any mechanism must be based on solid legal foundations and avoid imposing open-ended obligations on countries.
Italy is one of the largest economies in the EU, and its position on financing could tip the balance between countries pushing for bold measures to support Ukraine and those concerned about legal backlash and market instability, the publication notes.
Italy, of course, considers sacred the principle that Russia must first and foremost pay for the reconstruction of the country it attacked, but this result must be achieved on a solid legal basis
She added that she wants clarity on the proposed use of Russian assets, "especially those related to reputation, retribution, or a new, heavy burden on national budgets."
On Thursday, EU leaders are expected to consider proposals aimed at using funds from immobilized Russian sovereign assets, mostly held in Belgium, to support Ukraine's huge budget and defense needs – something Moscow strongly opposes, the publication writes.
A major issue yet to be resolved is Belgium's demand that other members of the 27-nation bloc share the financial risks if Russia successfully sues Belgium or the Belgian central securities depository Euroclear, where they are held.
Meloni has consistently supported Ukraine since the Russian invasion, reassuring Western allies who feared she might follow the pro-Moscow line of one of her coalition partners, the far-right League.
Meloni said on Wednesday that Russia was making "unreasonable" demands in US-brokered peace talks, including insisting that Moscow control all of Donbas.
"Contrary to what propaganda claims, the main obstacle to a peace agreement is Russia's inability to subdue the four Ukrainian regions it unilaterally declared annexed in late 2022," Meloni said, referring to the fact that Moscow demanded control over territories it failed to seize by force.
She added that significant progress had been made in recent talks in Berlin on security guarantees for Ukraine.