G7 countries have agreed a $50 billion deal to finance Ukraine through profits on frozen Russian assets, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said.
“I confirm to you that we have reached a political agreement to provide additional financial support to Ukraine of approximately $50 billion by the end of the year,” Meloni, who hosts the G7 this year, said on Thursday.
Meloni invited President Volodymr Zelenskyy to attend a special summit session on the war in Ukraine with US President Joe Biden and the leaders of France, Germany, Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom.
Addressing the meeting at the luxury Borgo Egnazia resort, Zelenskyy thanked leaders for their support, which he said would go to “both defense and reconstruction”, although he emphasized the need for more weapons.
The G7 plan for Ukraine is based on a multi-year loan that uses proceeds of around $300 billion from seized Russian funds.
The issue is complicated, however, because if one day Russian assets are unfrozen, then the windfall profits can no longer be used to repay the loan.
Each G7 country will contribute to the loan package, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.
“All G7 are contributing to this loan. It is the windfall profits from Russian fixed assets in Europe that will serve him,” von der Leyen told journalists on the sidelines of the G7 summit in southern Italy.
“Finance ministers are now analyzing the details – for example, the topic of support that is needed – and [will] clarify this as soon as possible.”
German Finance Minister Christian Lindner welcomed the “unity” following the agreement.
“Good news from the G7: another $50 billion for Ukraine,” he wrote on X.
The agreement on the loan to Ukraine, agreed at the three-day summit where the leaders of the main democracies of the Group of Seven (G7) meet, marks “a very historic step and a historic decision”, said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz , On thursday.
“The next step will just be to create the technical conditions for implementation in the shortest possible time,” said Scholz.
Scholz added that G7 leaders are sending a clear message to Russian President Vladimir Putin and demonstrating their unity and determination.
“The Russian president has a very obvious plan: he wants to carry out his war until everyone else gives up supporting Ukraine. This plan failed today,” said the chancellor.
“With the G7 states’ plan to mobilize $50 billion, which will be financed from windfall profits from frozen Russian assets, the foundations have been laid for Ukraine to be able to acquire everything it needs in the near future, not just in terms of weapons, but also for reconstruction or energy infrastructure.”
‘Significant military force’
French President Emmanuel Macron said finance ministers would now work out the details of the deal.
Reporting from Moscow, Yulia Shapovalova said Russian Foreign Ministry representative Maria Zakharova said using these profits would be “extremely painful for Brussels” as Russia has significant European properties and funds.
“So Europe will first have to pay for all its madness out of its own wallet,” said Zakharova.
Earlier, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that actions against Russian assets in the West would receive a “reciprocal response” because in Russia essentially the same amount of Western funds was frozen. He recently noted that Russia has “revenues” from these assets.
US-Ukraine security agreement
Also on Thursday, US President Joe Biden and Zelenskyy signed a 10-year bilateral security agreement that aims to bolster Ukraine’s defense against Russian invasion.
The agreement, signed on the sidelines of the summit, is intended to be a step towards Ukraine’s eventual accession to NATO, in accordance with the text of the agreement.
“The parties recognize this agreement as supporting a bridge towards Ukraine’s eventual accession to the NATO alliance”, says the text.
Zelenskyy has long sought NATO membership, but the allies have failed to take that step. The Western alliance considers any attack launched on one of its 32 members as an attack on all, under the Article Five clause.
In the event of an armed attack or threat of such a nature against Ukraine, senior U.S. and Ukrainian officials will meet within 24 hours to consult on a response and determine what additional defense needs are necessary for Ukraine. , says the agreement.
Under the terms of the agreement, the United States reaffirms its support for the defense of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, amid a renewed Russian push on Ukraine’s eastern front.
“To ensure Ukraine’s security, both sides recognize that Ukraine needs significant military strength, robust capabilities, and sustained investments in its defense industrial base that are consistent with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. [NATO] standards”, says the text.
“The United States intends to provide long-term materiel, training and advice, sustainment, intelligence, security, industrial defense, institutional, and other support to develop Ukrainian security and defense forces that are capable of defending a sovereign, independent, and democratic Ukraine and deterring future attacks”, he says.
The summit takes place at a time of extraordinary global turmoil.
In addition to the conflict in Ukraine, Israel’s ongoing attack on Gaza is intense and economic tensions are rising between China and Western countries.
Last leaders’ summit?
Many G7 countries are also in political flux, with summit attendees aware that this could be Biden’s last G7 summit if he loses to Donald Trump in the November election.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to be ousted in the July 4 election, while France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Scholz are both under pressure following far-right gains in EU Parliament elections last weekend.
In contrast, Italy’s Meloni is riding high after his far-right party emerged victorious in his country’s European Parliament vote.
Summit talks began with a short session on Africa, development and climate change, before turning to the Middle East.
G7 leaders have already announced their support for a Gaza truce agreement outlined by Biden, which would also lead to the release of prisoners taken in the October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel.
Meanwhile, Biden said he has not given up hope of reaching an agreement on a ceasefire in Gaza, but called on the Palestinian group Hamas to step up.
Biden, asked if he was confident there would be a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel soon, said: “No.”
“I haven’t given up hope, but it’s going to be difficult,” he told reporters. “Hamas has to move.”
US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators have tried for months to broker a ceasefire amid Israel’s deadly attack on Gaza, which has killed more than 37,200 Palestinians and devastated the densely populated enclave.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
