Wall Street Journal: Europe is afraid of Russia

According to Isna, the European countries, without an agreement on the use of the frozen assets of Russia for financial aid to Ukraine, finally agreed to provide a 105 billion dollar European loan to Kyiv, showing that the gap between these countries over the support of Ukraine has widened since the beginning of this war and that the continent is facing challenges to maintain its authority in the face of Russian threats.

The Wall Street Journal wrote with this introduction: The leaders of these countries said that using the assets of an independent country creates a dangerous procedure and there was no guarantee that the complex program prepared by the European Union would be successful.

Ukraine’s Western backers, who have hesitated to send advanced military equipment to Ukraine for fear of spreading conflict, have blamed Kiev for long-range attacks deep into Russia. These countries have imposed extensive sanctions against Moscow, but not in a way that would lead to a confrontation with Russia or worsen the economic war with China.

Belgium, whose Euroclear financial institution is home to about two-thirds of the Russian central bank’s $300 billion assets at the beginning of the war, opposed the EU plan, fearing a possible economic crisis in the event of a successful legal complaint. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the EU plan failed because “decisions that involve stealing other people’s money are difficult.”

Aiding Ukraine with European taxpayers’ money instead of using Russian assets

It is further stated in this article: This loan was almost turning into a multifaceted weapon. EU officials, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and German Chancellor Friedrich Mertes, planned to freeze 90 billion euros of Russian money as collateral for a loan to Ukraine, which would punish Russia while helping Kiev and reduce the EU’s financial burden. Instead, it is European taxpayers who have to pay for this loan. Now that Ukraine has gotten what it wanted, the EU looks aggrieved.

Addressing the opinion of analysts that “this action paints a very bad perspective in the context of an ongoing war”, the American media wrote that the outcome of the meeting of European leaders shows how difficult it is to gain political support among European countries for cost sharing.

The Wall Street Journal predicted that the problem is likely to worsen, especially with opposition from countries such as Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Belgium.

According to this newspaper, “European leaders warned that the paradox of continuing US-led peace talks is that it has made it more difficult to garner support for Ukraine’s war efforts, if these talks have yet to yield tangible results.”

“Mathe Fredriksson”, the Prime Minister of Denmark, emphasized that Putin is hoping for this fatigue caused by war and injecting insecurity in European societies with a hybrid war, stating: “Although many Europeans want peace, Russia does not have such a desire and considers itself in conflict with us, so Europe must remain united and take the necessary measures.”

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