G7 finance ministers discusssed options for using interest from frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine. Kyiv has stepped up its appeals for more international financial aid to fight off Moscow’s invasion.
Finance ministers from the G7 group of wealthy democracies on Saturday cited “progress” but no breakthrough in talks on how to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine as it continues to battle invading Russian forces.
The meeting of the G7 ministers in the northern Italian city of Stresa focused mainly on the question of how to find more funds for Ukraine as Russia presses on with a new offensive in the Kharkiv region in the third year of its unprovoked invasion.
The G7 and its allies froze some $300 billion (€276 billion) of Russian assets shortly after Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022.
The meeting comes after the EU this week formally approved a plan to use interest from the Russian assets it has frozen, estimating that this could produce up to €3 billion annually for Ukraine.
What did ministers say about the talks?
The G7 finance ministers did not report any final agreement on using Russian assets on Saturday.
“We are making progress in our discussions on potential avenues to bring forward the extraordinary profits stemming from immobilized Russian sovereign assets to the benefit of Ukraine, consistent with international law and our respective legal systems,” the ministers said in a final statement.
The ministers reiterated that Russian assets will remain frozen “until Russia pays for the damage it has caused to Ukraine.” They also raise the possibility of imposing further sanctions on Moscow.
Italian Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said that the ministers had faced technical and legal issues, but were hoping to present a proposal before a G7 leaders’ summit next month in Puglia, Italy.
“We do not deny the difficulties but there is a firm determination to arrive at a solution,” he said.
What kinds of plans were discussed?
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said ministers aimed to “reach a political agreement in principle” and not a ready-made solution.
A draft statement from the meeting seen by the Reuters news agency said: “We are making progress in our discussions on potential avenues to bring forward the extraordinary profits stemming from immobilized Russian sovereign assets to the benefit of Ukraine.”
The statement contained no figures or details, reflecting the fact that several legal and technical issues need to be resolved before such loans could be made.
Any detailed agreement would require the approval of G7 leaders, who meet next month in Puglia, Italy.
The United States, for its part, has been urging its G7 partners — Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy and Canada — to create a loan facility for Ukraine backed by future interest generated by the frozen Russian assets.
That proposal, which could raise $50 billion in the short term for Kyiv, raises several questions, including who would issue the debt and the apportioning of risk between the G7 partners.
At the end of the meeting, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that a loan for Ukraine backed by the income from frozen Russian sovereign assets is the “main option” for G7 leaders to consider in June but added that she doesn’t want to “take anything off the table as a future possibility.”
The ministers will be joined on Saturday by Ukraine’s finance minister, Serhiy Marchenko.
Source : https://www.dw.com/en/g7-makes-progress-but-no-deal-on-russian-assets-for-kyiv/a-69181131
The new leadership of the High Qualifications Commission of Judges (HQCJ) should be virtuous and independent, the Italian Presidency of the G7 Ambassadors Support Group in Kiev said in a statement published on social network X on Thursday.
“The G7 Ambassadors are closely following the news of the High Qualifications Commission of Judges and call for a transparent selection process for the new leadership, which should be virtuous and independent. Advancing reforms and filling the courts with vetted judges is critical to public confidence in the judiciary and private sector investment,” the statement reads.
According to Interfax-Ukraine, on March 27, the HQCJ granted the application of the commission’s chairman, Roman Ihnatov, to dismiss him from the position of a member of the commission at his own request. He had been heading the commission since June 6, 2023.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that he had agreed with German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the urgent convening of the G7 group.
“Agreed with Olaf Scholz, Chancellor of Germany, presiding over the G7, to convene an urgent meeting of the group. My speech is planned, in which I will talk about the terrorist attacks of the Russian Federation. We also discussed increasing pressure on Russia and helping to rebuild damaged infrastructure,” he tweeted on Monday.
The leaders of the G7 countries will announce the provision of new financial, humanitarian and military support to Ukraine, Bloomberg reports citing a draft statement of these countries from the summit in Bavaria.
“We will continue to provide financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support to Ukraine, as well as support it for as long as necessary,” the agency quotes from a document received by it.
Bloomberg emphasizes that this “wording is important because the members of the G7 are concerned about the prolongation” of the war. However, some countries, including Germany and France, “have hinted that they may be more open to the idea of a negotiated ceasefire.”
According to the agency, the document says that the leaders of the G7 are also considering the possibility of using revenue from duties to support Ukraine.
It is noted that earlier the G7 discussed how to coordinate actions to combat rising inflation and prevent a recession, as well as ways to maintain “pressure on Russia.”
The G7 summit is taking place in Bavaria on June 26-28.
The G7 countries are planning to impose an embargo on the import of Russian gold in order to deprive the Russian Federation of tens of billions of dollars a year, US President Joe Biden said.
“The United States has imposed unprecedented spending on Putin to deprive him of the income he needs to finance the war against Ukraine. Together, the G7 will announce that we will ban the import of Russian gold – a major export that brings Russia tens of billions of dollars,” Biden tweeted on Sunday.
Earlier it was reported that the meetings of the leaders of the G7 countries, which will also be joined by the leaders of Argentina, India, Indonesia, Senegal and South Africa, will be held in Germany from June 26 to 28.
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that, among other things, the summit participants will discuss new measures aimed at isolating Russia from the world economy and disrupting supply chains for the Russian defense complex. It is also planned to reach new agreements to reduce energy and food prices in the world.
The summit will take place in the Bavarian Alps in Elmau. The last summit chaired by Germany, when Angela Merkel was Chancellor, was also held there.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson calls on the G7 countries, whose leaders start a three-day summit near Munich on Sunday, to continue supporting Ukraine in the fight against Russian armed aggression.
“Now is not the time to give up on Ukraine, they need the support and determination of the G7 more than ever,” he tweeted.
“The UK will continue to stand by Ukraine at every turn because we know their security is our security and their freedom is our freedom,” Johnson said.
The negative global impact of Russia’s war will be at the center of discussions at the G7 summit in Germany, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday.
“We will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” she tweeted.
Other highlights of the summit, she said, include security of energy supplies and global food security, investment in resilient infrastructure and global pandemic preparedness.
“We will also discuss how we can best deal with price increases without compromising our climate goals,” the Commission President added.
