European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has mooted seizing frozen Russian foreign exchange reserves to help pay for rebuilding Ukraine after the war.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Borrell said the EU and its western allies had put curbs on the Russian central bank’s international reserves since the country began its invasion of Ukraine.

He said it would be logical for the EU to do what the United States did with Afghan central bank assets after the Taliban took over the Asian nation.

“We have the money in our pockets, and someone has to explain to me why it is good for the Afghan money and not good for the Russian money,” Mr Borrell said.

Washington froze the Afghan funds after the Taliban takeover.

It planned to use some to help the Afghan people while holding the rest to address terrorism-related lawsuits against Islamist militants.

(Reuters/NAN)