(Washington) The G7 and the IMF reaffirmed Wednesday that they will support Ukraine “as long as necessary” to deal with the economic consequences of the invasion, which amount to billions of dollars, at a time when the country is the target of a new wave of Russian strikes.
Posted at 4:23 p.m.
“The G7 will continue to support Ukraine for as long as necessary and remains deeply committed to providing assistance to meet the most urgent financial needs,” the finance ministers of the seven most developed democracies announced in a joint statement. .
The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, for her part announced during an exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the institution would work on the creation of a permanent forum aimed at coordinating aid. economic.
“I think it would be useful if we created a financial aid coordination system similar to what was created in Rammstein regarding military aid,” said Zelensky, speaking in videoconference during an interministerial meeting organized by the IMF and the World Bank, and bringing together the States supporting the country financially.
He put Ukraine’s financial needs at 38 billion dollars to limit its deficit this year.
“Yes, President Zelensky, we will launch a forum as soon as possible,” assured Mr.me Georgieva, specifying that it would meet regularly in order to adapt economic aid to Ukraine. She also recalled that the monthly financing needs of the Ukrainian government are between three and four billion dollars.
The boss of the IMF also announced that a team from the Fund “will meet immediately with the Ukrainian team to determine the macroeconomic framework and what this implies in budgetary matters”.
Also present, the American Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen, insisted on the necessary “coordinated and unified effort of the G7, international financial institutions and all of Ukraine’s partners” to help it win the war, but also rebuild the country.
Russian Oil Talks
At the beginning of September, the World Bank and the European Commission had assessed Ukraine’s reconstruction and economic recovery needs at $350 billion, a bill that continues to grow as the destruction continues in the country.
In order to reduce Russia’s ability to continue the war, the G7 has also been discussing for several weeks the establishment of a cap on the price of Russian oil, essential for financing the Kremlin’s military budget.
If the principle is generally accepted, the United States, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan and Italy continue to discuss the mechanisms necessary for the effective implementation of this cap.
Australia has joined this initiative, on which the Member States of the European Union must still agree once the mechanism is agreed by the G7.
Earlier Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced the proposal, which is backed by the United States and the European Union.
“With their cavalier decisions, some Western politicians are destroying the world economy and actually posing a threat to the well-being of billions of people,” Putin told a forum on Wednesday. energy in Moscow.
The Kremlin has warned that Russia will no longer deliver oil to countries that put such a cap in place.
The discussions must in particular determine at what level the ceiling must be placed, which must be above the cost of production so that Russia has an interest in supplying the importing countries.