EU's Proposal on Frozen Russian Assets Expected to Be Ready 'Quite Soon'

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The European Union is expected to put forward a proposal on using proceeds generated by frozen Russian assets "quite soon," European Commission Vice-President and Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis said on Monday.

"We are currently working on this step-two proposal as regards to the use of proceeds from immobilized Russian assets and indeed we can expect this proposal quite soon," Dombrovskis said in a doorstep interview ahead of the Eurogroup meeting in Brussels.

The commissioner refused to specify the date when the plan will be revealed or its modalities.

The EU is estimated to hold some $300 billion in Russian central bank assets together with its G7 allies — the United States, Japan and Canada. The seven have been holding talks on how to tap the frozen funds, but Russia argues this is illegal and will ruin the West's image as a safe haven for global money.

On February 12, the Council of the EU decided that the profits from frozen Russian assets would be stored for their further use in the interests of Ukraine. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen later suggested that the EU use these windfall profits to buy weapons for Kiev, marking a change in rhetoric from Brussels, which has previously discussed using Russian central bank money to finance Ukraine's reconstruction.