The countries of G7 This Thursday they reaffirmed their support for Ukraine with the announcement of a US$50 billion loan to stop the Russian offensive, while Washington pledged to support Kyiv with a security plan for the next ten years.
“I confirm to you that we have reached a political agreement to provide additional financial support to Ukraine of approximately US$ 50,000 million at the end of this year,” said Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, whose country is hosting the G7 summit being held in southern Italy.
Meloni had invited Zelensky to join a special session dedicated to the war in Ukraine, in the presence of US President Joe Biden and the leaders of France (Emmanuel Macron), Germany (Olaf Scholz), Canada (Justin Trudeau), Japan (Fumio Kishida) and the United Kingdom (Rishi Sunak).
The European Union is also participating in the discussions, which this year are being held in the luxurious resort of Borgo Egnazia, in the Apulia region, as the eighth informal member of this group that brings together the world’s richest democracies.
In parallel, the United States announced a security agreement with Ukraine for the next ten years, a “powerful signal”according to Washington, of its long-term support against the Russian invasion.
The agreement, similar to the one the United States has with Israel, commits Washington to training the Ukrainian army, providing it with defense equipment, conducting joint exercises and cooperating in the defense industry.
Unlike what would happen if Ukraine were a member of NATO, the United States does not commit to sending its troops to defend the country. Despite this, Zelensky assured that the pact is a “bridge” for his country to join NATO in the future.
For his part, Biden assured that the agreement shows Russian President Vladimir Putin that “We are not going backwards.”
Loan with unknowns
The US$50 billion loan announced by the G7 will use as collateral the interest generated by the nearly 300 billion euros (US$325 billion) of Russian assets frozen by Western allies after the February 2022 invasion.
But it is a complex financial operation and it remains to be seen what would happen if Russian assets were released, in the event of a hypothetical agreement with Russia, or who would assume the risk in the event of non-payment.
A senior Biden administration official said Thursday that the United States is willing to provide up to $50 billion, but that its contribution could be “significantly lower” if it ultimately becomes a shared initiative.
“We will not be the only lenders. It will be a union of lenders. “We are going to share the risk, because we have a shared commitment,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Pressure on Hamas for a truce
In parallel, the G7 officially asked the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas to accept the roadmap for a ceasefire in Gaza announced in May by Biden.
According to the US president, Hamas remains ““the biggest obstacle” to reach an agreement in the Gaza Strip that would allow a truce to be declared and the hostages held by the Palestinian movement to be released.
In May, Biden launched a plan, backed by the UN Security Council, to stop this war, triggered by the bloody Hamas attack on Israeli territory on October 7, which has left tens of thousands dead in the Palestinian territory.
The summit will continue this Friday with the arrival of guests who are not part of the group, among them the presidents of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Argentina, Javier Milei.
Milei has bilateral meetings on his agenda with Meloni and the French president, as well as with the director of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
Pope Francis, 87, will also travel to Apulia, not only as a spiritual leader but also to give a talk on artificial intelligence and “algoretics” (the ethics of algorithms), an issue that worries the Vatican. The pontiff also plans a private meeting with Lula.
The summit is held 60 kilometers south of Bari, the regional capital, in a hotel complex that imitates Italian architecture in the style of a theme park and is the favorite resort of Madonna, among other celebrities.
It may interest you
- Macron calls for Ukraine to be allowed to attack targets in Russia with Western weapons
- Ukraine: NATO says Russia does not have the capacity to make a strategic advance
- Keys to the G7 agreement to give a loan to Ukraine with frozen Russian assets
Source: Gestion
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