US envoys proposed partial "unfreeze" of Russian assets to EU to revive peace talks

Special representatives of U.S. President Donald Trump — Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner — proposed that European Union governments allow a partial “unfreezing” of Russian assets in order to keep alive negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, sources familiar with the matter said.

According to those sources, Witkoff and Kushner put the idea forward during a meeting in Miami last month that brought together representatives from NATO, the EU, the United Kingdom and Germany. The proposal included several methods for “unfreezing” Russian funds and envisaged the possible creation of a new special-purpose financial instrument as part of a potential peace settlement.

EU envoys reject proposal, debate continues on mechanisms

European representatives present at the talks rejected the U.S. suggestion, the sources said, but discussions over technical mechanisms that could allow partial release and conditional use of some Russian assets remain ongoing.

The wider context is that EU member states together with the G7 have frozen roughly €300 billion of Russian assets, of which nearly €180 billion are held in the Belgian depository Euroclear. The question of how, and under what conditions, any portion of those funds might be reassigned or released has become a sensitive diplomatic and legal issue.

Diplomats and financial officials involved in the discussions say the main obstacles are legal ownership, sanctions compliance and the safeguards needed to ensure any released funds would not be diverted back to Moscow without guarantees tied to a concrete peace agreement.

Whether the idea of a tailored financial instrument will reappear in future negotiations depends on whether parties can agree on enforceable guarantees and on the political willingness of EU capitals to accept measures that would partially roll back asset freezes.

Photo: press material from the event