Italian G7 presidency confirms agreement on use of frozen Russian assets

Earlier, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz welcomed a “historic” agreement which sends “a clear signal” to Vladimir Putin.

G7 leaders meeting in Italy have reached an agreement on the use of frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine to the tune of $50 billion, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni confirmed on Thursday June 13. “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,” declared the head of government, whose country is chairing the G7 this year, in Borgo Egnazia, near Bari (south).

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had earlier welcomed the agreement “historical” sealed by the West to come to the aid of kyiv. This agreement creates “the basis for Ukraine to be able to obtain everything it needs in the near future, in terms of weapons, but also investments in reconstruction (…)”he declared, believing that it also sends “a clear signal” to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

As this meeting of the “Group of 7″, composed of the United States, Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan, Washington put pressure on its partners to rally around a mega loan of around $50 billion (46 million euros) guaranteed by future interest generated by fixed Russian assets. But many questions remain, including who would issue the debt and what would happen if the assets were released in the event of a peace deal.

The G7 must therefore announce a “frame”, as well as a timetable, the details of which will have to be finalized later, declared Jake Sullivan, the American national security adviser. But, in addition to funding, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also asked the West to accelerate their arms deliveries and the training of F-16 pilots.

Invited to Italy, he estimated that“it is right that Russia pays”, demanding the pure and simple confiscation of the 300 billion euros of assets of the Russian central bank frozen by the EU and the G7, which for the moment they are refusing for legal reasons.