The countries have been lobbying EU capitals not to seize the assets, fearing for the future of their own reserves held in the West, the Financial Times reports, citing officials.
While the US and Canada continue to push for the confiscation of Russian assets, the EU "remains highly cautious, resulting in a stalemate," the outlet said.
Confiscating Russian assets could trigger a wave of reparations claims stemming from long-standing disputes, such as those against Germany after the two world wars, as well as former colonies making claims against former imperialist powers, the FT noted, citing EU officials.
"Moving from freezing the assets, to confiscating them, to disposing of them [could carry the risk of] breaking the international order that you want to protect," European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said.
While Ukraine insists on the complete seizure of Russia's assets, G7 officials privately declare that such a step is "no longer on the table." The Russian Foreign Ministry has called the freezing of Russian assets theft, noting that such an attempt violates international law.