Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard says that the Nordic countries pay too much of the aid to Ukraine.
Now she is pushing for the EU to seize frozen Russian assets.
– That a few countries should take almost the entire burden is not fair and not sustainable in the long run, she tells Politico.
Maria Malmer Stenergard directs sharp criticism at world leaders who claim to stand behind Ukraine but do not back up their words with financial support.
– The fact that the Nordic countries, with fewer than 30 million people, contribute a third of the military support from the NATO countries, but almost a billion people, this year is not sustainable. It is not reasonable in any way and it says a lot about what the Nordic countries are doing, but it says even more about what the others are doing, says Malmer Stenergard, to Politico.
According to the newspaper, the Nordic and Baltic countries contribute the most money to Ukraine in relation to the countries’ GDP. Ahead of today’s meeting of foreign ministers in the EU, Maria Malmer Stenergard says that there must be an agreement in the union on how the support should be resolved going forward.
“No other choice”
She advocates that the approximately 170 billion euros in Russian assets kept frozen in Belgium should be used to support Ukraine. Belgium has resisted the proposal for fear of ending up as the debtor if Russia demands the money back.
Maria Malmer Stenergard says that Belgium cannot stand alone with the risks and that Sweden is ready to seek financial guarantees for the country.
– We have no other choice, so I expect the member states and the Commission to do what is necessary for us to actually get there, says Malmer Stenergard, to Politico about an agreement for the support.
