The bloc is likely to stick to various "indirect mechanisms" to tap into frozen Russian assets, Polish PM Donald Tusk says

The EU is "light years away" from using frozen Russian assets to militarily prop up Ukraine or "rebuild" the country, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has admitted.

Finding themselves bereft of unlimited US military backing, EU leaders have been seeking to find a legal mechanism to use Russia's sovereign funds to continue arming Ukraine. The idea of tapping into the funds, most likely by using them as collateral for loans to Ukraine, has been strongly objected to within the bloc and by legal scholars.

The EU is likely to use "various indirect mechanisms" to tap into the assets rather than confiscate them outright, Tusk said on Monday. The PM made the remarks while commenting on the EU's recent move to tighten its grip on the frozen Russian assets and prevent their premature release.

"From that point to the potential use of these funds for rebuilding Ukraine - let alone for military support for Ukraine - we are still light years away," Tusk told reporters. "However, there are various indirect mechanisms, for example, the possibility of using these funds as a financial lever, that is, as loan guarantees," he added.

The difference in the EU and the US position on the potential confiscation of Russian assets is "absolutely obvious," Tusk said. Washington has repeatedly urged the bloc to exercise caution on the matter, arguing it would only complicate or completely derail the negotiation efforts of the Trump administration, the PM added. 

"The Americans say: leave these Russian assets alone, because it's hard to sit down at the negotiating table with Putin and say, 'Let's make a compromise, but we're taking your money.' This is the American argument," he said.

Last week, the EU invoked its rarely used emergency powers to circumvent potential vetoes by individual member countries and prevent release of the assets. The "temporary" measure prohibits "any transfers of Central Bank of Russia assets immobilized in the EU back to Russia." 

Moscow has strongly condemned the move, reiterating its position that it regards any tampering with its funds as "theft," no matter how it is framed. Tapping into the funds would be illegal under international law regardless of any "pseudo-legal tricks Brussels employs to justify it," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has stated.