(MENAFN) Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has urged the European Union to intensify its pressure on Moscow while emphasizing the importance of upholding international law in any strategy involving frozen Russian assets.

Meloni made these comments in her address to the Italian Senate on Wednesday, ahead of the upcoming European Council summit in Brussels.

In response to Russia's actions following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Western nations froze approximately $300 billion of Russian assets, with about €200 billion ($213 billion) managed by Euroclear, the Brussels-based clearinghouse.

These assets have already been used to support Ukraine's finances, but Russia has denounced these measures as “theft” and warned of retaliatory actions.

The European Commission has proposed using proceeds from around €210 billion in frozen Russian assets within the EU to back loans to Ukraine for the years 2026 and 2027.

This proposal comes as military aid from the United States diminishes, and EU budgets face increasing constraints.

In her statement, Meloni emphasized that “we believe, and we are not the only ones, that it is necessary to respect international rules and the principle of legality,” stressing that the EU must protect “the financial and monetary stability of our economies and the euro area.”

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