Hungarian PM opposes unlawful use of frozen Russian assets

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in Brussels on Wednesday that the proposals of the EU to use frozen Russian assets to back a loan for Ukraine are "crazy".

Western countries have frozen roughly 300 billion U.S. dollars in Russian sovereign assets since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in February 2022. The European Union has immobilized about 210 billion euros (about 246.4 billion dollars) of Russian central bank assets, most of it held at Belgium-based Euroclear in Brussels.

Earlier this month, EU governments agreed to indefinitely immobilize those Russian central bank assets, a shift from the previous system of rolling renewals every six months, to reduce the risk that a single member state could block the measure.

Orban denounced the EU's move to permanently freeze the assets, arguing that the "clearly unlawful" decision will "cause irreparable damage" to the bloc.

In addition, Orban believes that the EU's decision to cut off energy ties with Russia is also wrong. He said that the EU should support a peaceful resolution of Ukraine crisis.

Russian assets will not be on the table at Thursday's European Council meeting, said Orban on Wednesday.

He said the European Commission now is pushing joint loans to Ukraine, but Hungary will not foot the bill for Ukraine's war.

International rating agency Fitch on Tuesday placed Euroclear, a Belgium-based financial services company, on "rating watch negative", citing the potential for increased legal and liquidity risks from the European Union's plans to use frozen Russian assets for a reparations loan to Ukraine.

In response, Euroclear said on Wednesday that Fitch's decision signaled a need for greater clarity and detail on the proposed reparations loan for Ukraine and was preparing for a range of scenarios.

Hungarian PM opposes unlawful use of frozen Russian assets

China's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fu Cong on Wednesday called for joint efforts to foster an inclusive, open and green information society at the High-level Meeting of the General Assembly on the overall review of the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) at the UN Headquarters in New York City.

The high-level meeting, held on Tuesday and Wednesday, provides an opportunity for in-depth discussions on important issues in the implementation of the outcomes of the WSIS, which was held in two phases, in Geneva in 2003 and Tunis in 2005.

"Twenty years ago, the World Summit on the Information Society mapped out a vision for an information society that is people-centered, inclusive and development oriented. Thanks to the concerted efforts of all countries, this vision is gradually coming to fruition. Over the past two decades, China has actually implemented the outcomes, promoted digital innovation, access and application, and shared digital dividends with the international community through open-source cooperation. China has also proposed the Belt and Road Initiative and the Global Development Initiative to help countries in the Global South to implement the 2030 agenda for sustainable development," Fu said at the meeting.

As the digital and smart transformations sweep across the world today, it is necessary for the international community to enhance coordination and cooperation, he said.

China is willing to work together with all parties to build an inclusive information society that delivers benefits to all, an open information society that is shared by all, and an information society that is green and environment friendly, to turn the WSIS vision into reality, Fu said.

China calls for joint efforts to build inclusive, open, green information society