The US reportedly proposed that Europe release part of the roughly 260 billion euros in frozen Russian assets and move them into a financing vehicle overseen by Washington, as part of efforts to restart Ukraine peace talks. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz rejected the idea, saying the assets must remain frozen in Europe and that Europeans must decide their fate. European officials opposed giving up control or returning any portion to Moscow, and releasing the assets would require the consensus of all 27 EU member states, which is considered unlikely. The West froze the assets in 2022, and a 45 billion euro G7 loan to Ukraine is backed by interest generated from them. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow will pursue legal action to recover the assets.
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