Sawt Falasteen - Zelensky presses EU to tap Russian assets at crunch summit

The 27-nation bloc is scrambling to bolster its ally Ukraine, as US President Donald Trump pushes for a deal with President Vladimir Putin to end the fighting.

Officials have insisted leaders' talks in Brussels will last as long as it takes to hammer out an agreement, saying both Ukraine's survival -- nearly four years into the war -- and Europe's credibility are at stake.

"We will not leave the European summit without a solution for the funding of Ukraine," European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen said.

The EU's executive wants to fund a loan to Ukraine by using frozen assets from Russia's central bank, though it is holding on to a back-up plan for the bloc to raise the money itself.

The EU estimates Ukraine needs an extra 135 billion euros ($159 billion) to stay afloat over the next two years -- with the cash crunch set to start in April.

Zelensky said Kyiv needed a decision on its financing by the end of the year and that the move could give it more leverage in talks to end the war.

"Russian assets must be used to defend against Russian aggression and rebuild what was destroyed by Russian attacks. It's moral. It's fair. It's legal," Zelensky said.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was among those agreeing strongly as he said there was "no better option".

But Belgium's Prime Minister Bart De Wever -- who held talks with Zelensky on the sidelines -- seemed unconvinced so far.

"I have not seen a text that could persuade me to give Belgium's agreement," he told Belgian lawmakers before the summit kicked off.

The vast bulk of the assets are held by international deposit organisation Euroclear in Belgium, and the government fears it could face crippling financial and legal reprisals from Moscow.

EU officials say they have gone out of their way to allay Belgian worries and that multiple layers of protection -- including guarantees from other member states -- mean the risks are minimal.

"At this stage, the guarantees offered by the Commission remain insufficient," De Wever said.

- Ukraine's looming cash crunch -

In a bid to plug Kyiv's yawning gap, the Commission has proposed tapping 210 billion euros of frozen assets, initially to provide Kyiv 90 billion euros over two years.

The unprecedented scheme would see the funds loaned to the EU, which would then loan them on to Ukraine.

Kyiv would then only pay back the "reparations loan" once the Kremlin compensates it for the damage.

In theory, other EU countries could override Belgium and ram the initiative through with a weighted majority, but that would be a nuclear option that few see as likely for now.

De Wever insisted that the EU should go for its alternative plan of raising money itself -- but diplomats said that option had been shelved as it needed unanimity and Hungary was firmly against.

Bubbling close to the surface of the EU's discussion are the US efforts to forge a deal to end the war.

Zelensky said Ukrainian and US delegations would hold new talks on Friday and Saturday in the United States.

He said he wanted Washington to give more details on the guarantees it could offer to protect Ukraine from another invasion.

"What will the United States of America do if Russia comes again with aggression?" he asked. "What will these security guarantees do? How will they work?"

M.AlAhmad--SF-PST