Merz spoke out against transferring Russia's frozen assets to U.S. control

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that frozen Russian assets located in Europe should remain under the control of European countries. 

According to him, it is up to Europe to decide independently how to dispose of them.

 Merz commented on a proposal to transfer part of Russia’s sovereign assets to U.S. control to facilitate peace talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.

“These are assets that are frozen in Europe, and they must remain frozen in Europe. This is our business, and we will make the decision on this,” the German chancellor emphasized.

Earlier, media reports indicated that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump had proposed that the EU transfer a portion of the frozen Russian assets to a financial entity under Washington’s control.

Source: Financial Times

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe called on member states and observer countries to take measures to direct frozen Russian state assets toward paying compensation to Ukraine and Ukrainian victims.

In Estonia, Jonathan Vesewiov, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that the frozen assets of the Russian Federation—an aggressor state—should be used for the benefit of Ukraine. He identified the implementation of international measures that would have irreversible consequences for Russia as one of Estonia’s main diplomatic goals.