US President Joe Biden (C), Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attend the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment Event during the G7 Summit in Italy on 13 June 2024. (Mandel NGAN / AFP)
- G7 leaders have agreed a loan to Ukraine worth some R920 billion, using frozen Russian assets.
- That money can be used for weapons, but also reconstruction.
- At the same time, the US and Ukraine entered a 10-year security deal that is both a step towards Nato membership and intended to be proof against a Donald Trump presidency.
G7 leaders agreed Thursday on a new $50 billion loan for Ukraine – some R920 billion in South African terms – using profits from frozen Russian assets, support that was welcomed by President Volodymr Zelensky — though he emphasised the need for more weapons.
At the same time, the US and Ukraine signed a 10-year bilateral defence deal that serves as a precursor to Ukraine becoming part of the Nato bloc.
“We have reached political agreement to provide additional financial support to Ukraine of approximately $50 billion by the end of the year,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced after the first day of a summit in Puglia.
Meloni had invited Zelensky to join a special summit session on the Ukraine war with US President Joe Biden and the leaders of France, Germany, Canada, Japan and Britain.
Addressing the meeting at the luxury Borgo Egnazia resort, Zelensky thanked the leaders for their support, which he said would go towards “both defence and reconstruction”.
But he urged Kyiv’s allies to go further and actually confiscate Russia’ frozen assets, an option the European Union has so far ruled out for fear it would rattle international markets.
And he said Ukrainian forces still needed more air-defence systems to help counter attacks by Moscow, which has been pummelling Kyiv’s front-line troops and the country’s power grid.
Trump-proof US-Ukraine security deal
Also on Tuesday, Biden and Zelenskiy signed a 10-year bilateral security agreement aimed at bolstering Ukraine’s defense against Russian invaders.
The deal aims to commit future US administrations to support Ukraine, even if former president Donald Trump wins November’s election, officials said.
It will be a framework for a long-term effort by the United States to help develop Ukraine’s outdated armed forces and serve as a step towards Ukraine’s eventual NATO membership, according to the text of the deal.
“Our goal is to strengthen Ukraine’s credible defense and deterrence capabilities for the long term,” Biden said.
Zelenskiy has long sought NATO membership but the allies have stopped short of taking that step. The Western alliance regards any attack launched on one of its 32 members as an attack on all under its Article Five clause.
“The parties recognise this agreement as supporting a bridge to Ukraine’s eventual membership in the NATO alliance,” the text says.
In the event of an armed attack or threat of such against Ukraine, top U.S. and Ukrainian officials will meet within 24 hours to consult on a response and determine what additional defense needs are required for Ukraine, the agreement says.
Under the agreement, the United States restates its support for Ukraine’s defense of its sovereignty and territorial integrity, amid a renewed push by Russia on Ukraine’s eastern front.
“To ensure Ukraine’s security, both sides recognize Ukraine needs a significant military force, robust capabilities, and sustained investments in its defense industrial base that are consistent with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)standards,” the text says.
With Trump leading Biden in many election polls, the future of the agreement remains unclear.
Trump has expressed skepticism of Ukraine’s continued fight, saying at one point that he would end the conflict in his first day in office. Trump has also pushed for Europe to take on more of the burden of supporting Kyiv.
Loan deal a ‘historic step’
G7 countries, which count the European Union as their unofficial eighth member, have been Ukraine’s key military and financial backers since Russia invaded in February 2022.
The G7 and the EU have frozen around $325 billion of Russian assets, much of it frozen by Euroclear, an international deposit organisation based in Belgium.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hailed the loan agreement as a “historic step” and a “clear signal to the Russian president that he cannot simply sit this matter out”.
“The basis has been created for Ukraine to be in a position to procure everything it needs… in the near future, in terms of weapons but also in terms of investment in reconstruction or in energy infrastructure,” he said.
Zelensky, who was due to hold a joint press conference with Biden later Thursday, has been engaged in a flurry of diplomacy aimed at shoring up international support.
He spoke earlier this week in Berlin at a reconstruction conference and is set to join more than 90 countries and organisations this weekend for a peace summit in Switzerland.
– Additional reporting by Reuters
Discussion about this post