Belgium says EU proposals do not address concerns on using Russian frozen assets
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot has said Belgium’s concerns on the use of Russian frozen assets to fund Ukraine were legitimate and that the European Commission’s proposals did not address those
concerns.
His comments came as the European Commission is expected to present a legal proposal this week to use frozen Russian assets for Ukraine while also leaving open the possibility of borrowing on financial markets or mixing the two options, Reuters reported quoting four sources.
EU leaders agreed in October to meet Ukraine’s “pressing financial needs” for the next two years but stopped short of endorsing a plan to use 140 billion euros ($162 billion) in frozen Russian sovereign assets in Europe as a loan for Kyiv, due to concerns raised by Belgium.
For more on why Europe can’t agree on the use of Russian frozen assets, click here.
Canada to buy arms for Ukraine via NATO funding mechanism
Canada will buy additional military material for Ukraine worth $200 million through NATO’s Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), said Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand ahead of the NATO meeting in Brussels.
Germany to provide another $200 million towards US arms for Ukraine
Germany will provide an additional $200 million worth of military equipment for Ukraine under NATO’s Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative, said Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul ahead of his trip to Brussels to attend a NATO foreign ministers meeting.
Wadephul’s trip to Brussels comes as German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is set to meet British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London for talks focused on joint support for Ukraine against Russia.
France’s Macron visits China with Ukraine on the agenda
French President Emmanuel Macron is due in Beijing, where he is expected to put pressure on his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to help secure a ceasefire in Ukraine and discuss trade relations.
Macron, on fourth state visit to China since taking office in 2017, will meet Xi and Premier Li Qiang at the capital’s Great Hall of the People during his visit.
Efforts to bring an end to the nearly four-year war in Ukraine are expected to be on the agenda.
“We are counting on China, like us a permanent member of the Security Council… to lean on Russia, so that Russia and, in particular, Vladimir Putin can finally agree to a ceasefire,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said earlier this week.
“China can play a crucial role in guiding Vladimir Putin’s Russia to make the right decision,” Barrot told French radio.
EU agrees deal to ban Russian gas by autumn 2027
EU lawmakers and European member states have agreed a deal to ban all imports of Russian gas into the European Union by autumn 2027, they announced early Wednesday.
The accord marks a compromise between the member states and the European Parliament, which wanted the ban to apply sooner. The ban on long-term contracts will apply on November 1, 2027 at the latest.
‘Some progress’ made in US-Russia talks on Ukraine, Rubio says
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said “some progress” has been made in talks with Russia to end its war with Ukraine, in an interview that aired Tuesday.
“And so what we have tried to do, and I think have made some progress, is figure out, what could the Ukrainians live with that gives them security guarantees for the future,” Rubio told Fox News host Sean Hannity, adding the US hopes the compromise “allows them not just to rebuild their economy, but to prosper as a country.”
Ukraine talks were ‘constructive’ but work remains, Putin adviser says
A senior adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin said talks in Moscow to bring an end to the Ukraine war were “constructive”.
Yuri Ushakov said the nearly five-hour conversation was “rather useful, constructive, rather substantive”, but added that the framework of the US peace proposal was discussed rather than “specific wording”.
Asked whether peace was closer or further away after these talks, Ushakov said: “Not further, that’s for sure.”
“But there’s still a lot of work to be done, both in Washington and in Moscow. That’s what’s been agreed upon. And contacts will continue,” the official said.
Ushakov spoke to reporters shortly after US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner met with a Russian delegation in the Kremlin for talks that began late Tuesday.
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Ukraine war and the diplomatic efforts to end it.
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