Photograph: Alexander Nemenov/AP Welcoming him to the Kremlin, Putin praised Orbán’s “balanced” position on Ukraine, after Hungary repeatedly tried to block further sanctions on Russia. The rest of Russia’s frozen assets would be invested in a US-Russian investment vehicle focused on joint projects. Germany, Sweden, as well as central and eastern European states and von der Leyen, argue the frozen assets plan is the best option. “These risks are unfortunately not academic but real,” he wrote to European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. Belgium hosts €183bn of Russian assets, around two thirds of Russian assets immobilised in the west, at the Brussels-based central securities depository Euroclear.
