London CNN —Russian assets frozen in European accounts are generating billions of dollars in interest payments that could be diverted to help repair Ukraine’s war-torn economy — and the European Union just took a step closer to doing that. After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Western countries froze nearly half of Moscow’s foreign reserves — some €300 billion ($327 billion). Around €200 billion ($218 billion) sits in the European Union — mostly at Euroclear, a financial institution that keeps assets safe for banks, exchanges and investors. The EU has been at pains to contrast the illegality of Russia’s invasion with its own strict adherence to the rule of law. Lawyers are working on the text of the agreement before returning it to EU member states for final approval.

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Persons: Euroclear, —, ” — James Frater Organizations: London CNN, European Union, EU, immobilised Central Bank of Russia, ”, Group, World Bank, European, European Central Bank, CNN Locations: Ukraine, ” Belgium, Euroclear, Russia, EU