Belgium PM says using frozen Russian assets could derail Ukraine peace deal, FT reports

Nov 27 (Reuters) - Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said the European Union's plan to use frozen Russian state assets to fund Ukraine could endanger the chances for a potential peace deal to end the nearly four-year war, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.

"Hastily moving forward on the proposed reparations loan scheme would have, as a collateral damage, that we as EU are effectively preventing reaching an eventual peace deal," De Wever said in a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, which was seen by the FT.

EU leaders tried at a summit last month to agree on a plan to use 140 billion euros ($162 billion) in frozen Russian sovereign assets in Europe as a loan for Kyiv, but failed to secure the backing of Belgium, where much of the funds are held.

The Belgian prime minister's office and the European Commission did not respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours.

The European Commission, the EU's executive body, hopes to address Belgium's concerns in a draft legal proposal which it will present this week on using the frozen sovereign assets to support Kyiv in 2026 and 2027, EU officials have said.

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