Brussels, 8 May 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Ambassadors for the EU member states on Wednesday struck a deal to use the proceeds of Russian assets frozen in the European Union to buy military aid for Ukraine, the Belgian government announced on X.

"The money will serve to support #Ukraine's recovery and military defence in the context of the Russian aggression," said the X account of the Belgian government, which is chairing talks among EU countries.

The agreement concerns the use of interest and other profits from the assets, but not the underlying assets themselves, which will remain frozen. The move could yield as much as €3 billion ($3.23 billion) for aid this year alone.

According to the European Commission, around €210 billion worth of Russian Central Bank assets are frozen in the EU. The Brussels-based financial institution Euroclear, which holds the lion's share of the assets, recently announced that the assets had made around €4.4 billion in interest in 2023.

Welcoming the deal, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X: "There could be no stronger symbol and no greater use for that money than to make Ukraine and all of Europe a safer place to live."

A total of 90% of the money will fund military aid, while 10% will go to financial aid for Ukraine.

Neutral member states such as Austria and Hungary did not want to be directly implicated in the supply of weapons and ammunition. Wednesday's deal would allow some of the financial aid to support Ukraine's recovery.

The agreement also reduces from 3% to 0.3% the amount that financial institutions holding the assets would be allowed to retain to cover their expenses.

There are currently no plans to use the underlying assets, due to a combination of legal concerns, the likelihood of retaliation and the risk to investors' confidence in the EU.

MIA file photo