In an attempt to reach an agreement on the use of blocked Russian assets to aid war-torn Ukraine, G7 leaders are meeting in Italy on Thursday for the first day of their summit.
At the opulent Borgo Egnazia resort in Puglia, US President Joe Biden will be joined by leaders from Italy, Britain, France, Germany, Canada, and Japan, as well as President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine.
The goal of the G7 meeting is to reach an agreement on a $50 billion loan for Kyiv, which would be repaid with interest on assets frozen by the Russian central bank after the invasion in February 2022, valued at 300 billion euros ($325 billion).
The European Union — where most of the funds are being held — agreed earlier this year to use the profits for Ukraine, worth up to three billion euros a year.
But the idea at the G7 is to use this to provide more, faster help in the form of a massive upfront loan — although key questions such as who issues the debt and who shares the risk are still being hammered out.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s office on Wednesday said a deal had been agreed on providing $50 billion for Ukraine before the end of the year, but said that technical details still needed to be finalised.
Britain, meanwhile, said it would announce up to $310 million in new bilateral assistance to Kyiv at the summit, adding leaders would “explore all lawful avenues by which immobilised Russian assets can be used to support Ukraine”.
The White House also said it expected to announce at the summit “new steps to unlock the value” of the Russian assets.
But US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was on Wednesday more guarded about what this may entail, saying only that the G7 was working towards announcing “a framework”, including a timeframe.
Zelensky is attending as part of a week of diplomatic efforts to rally support as his country’s outmanned and outgunned forces struggle against Russia.
It will culminate in an international conference on Ukraine in Switzerland this weekend.
