The European Union on Friday indefinitely froze €210 billion ($230 billion) in Russian state assets held within its jurisdiction, as Kyiv and its European allies sought to strengthen their position at a critical stage of U.S.-led peace talks, the Financial Times reported.

The move clears the way for borrowing against the assets to help finance Ukraine’s defence. EU leaders must still overcome strong objections from Belgium — where most of the Russian state assets are held — at a summit scheduled for next week.

Italy has also sided with Belgium. In a joint statement issued late on Friday, the two countries — along with Bulgaria and Malta — urged the EU to “continue exploring and discussing alternative options” to meet Ukraine’s financing needs, potentially through an EU-backed loan, which they said would carry “significantly lower risk”.

Moscow has responded by filing a lawsuit against Euroclear, the Brussels-based clearing house that holds the bulk of the assets, a move that could allow Russia to seize Euroclear assets located inside the country.

The White House confirmed that U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other European leaders in Berlin this weekend to discuss the security guarantees European capitals would provide to Ukraine under a potential peace agreement.

The Trump administration has stepped up pressure on Kyiv to sign a peace deal with Russia by Christmas, under terms that are largely unfavourable to Ukraine and were initially drafted between Washington and Moscow.