Europe has moved a step closer to using frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine fight the war after the British Prime Minister met his Belgian counterpart in London.

Keir Starmer hosted Bart De Wever in Downing Street on Friday afternoon as European leaders seek to agree a path forward to providing Kyiv with further support.

Britain has said it is ready to move in tandem with the EU to unlock immobilised Russian sovereign assets. The vast majority, estimated at $160 billion, is held in Belgium.

But the Brussels government has so far resisted the move. It has called on other nations in the trading bloc to share the risk, amid fears it would be legally liable to repay back the loan if Russia thwarted the plan.

Already, there are reports of Russia’s central bank taking litigation steps, launching a legal challenge over an estimated $210 billion of assets frozen across by Europe at the start of the Ukraine war in February 2022. The bank filed a lawsuit in Moscow against the Belgian financial institution Euroclear, The Times reported.

Following his Downing Street meeting, Mr De Wever said there are “very important decisions to be made” in the EU next week and he insisted “we and the UK will move together”.

Speaking alongside him, Mr Starmer praised Belgium as an “incredible partner” in the “coalition of the willing”, a group of around 30 nations led by Britain and France which have committed to supporting Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire.

A statement after the meeting said they agreed to continue working to make progress on unlocking Russian assets.

“It was clear, they agreed, that keeping up the economic pressure on Russia and putting Ukraine in the strongest possible position would remain the only way to achieve a just and lasting peace,” a Downing Street spokesperson said.

“They discussed ongoing work, together with European partners, on addressing Ukraine’s financial needs, including through the use of the value of immobilised Russian sovereign assets.”