Christian Smith
BORGO EGNAZIA, Italy (AP) — President Joe Biden and key global allies took steps on two fronts Thursday to bolster their solidarity with Ukraine as it fights Russia’s invasion, with Group of Seven leaders opening up path to a $50 billion loan package for Kiev as it prepared to sign a bilateral security agreement with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The money and security support, both announced during this year’s annual G7 summit in southern Italy, were intended to show Russian President Vladimir Putin that the world’s leading industrialized democracies supported Ukraine.
But the meeting gave the sense of leaders racing against the clock as several member countries hold elections this year, which could result in a new, more conservative leadership less focused on supporting Ukraine. At the top of that list is the race for the White House in November, which could see the return of Republican Donald Trump to the American presidency.
Trump has been skeptical about providing additional military aid to Ukraine, at one point criticizing the “endless flow of American treasure.” More recently, he expressed openness to lending money and said Ukraine’s independence is important to the United States.
The US and European countries have agreed to keep sanctioned Russian assets locked up until Moscow pays reparations for its invasion of Ukraine, a senior US official said. This paves the way for leaders to announce the $50 billion loan package for Ukraine.
The highly anticipated deal will leverage interest and proceeds from more than $260 billion in frozen Russian assets, largely held in Europe, to secure a $50 billion loan from the US and additional loans from other partners. Ukraine will receive the first payments later this year but will need time to use all the money, the official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the agreement, which will be included in the G7 leaders’ statement on Friday.
Ukraine will be able to spend the money in several areas, including for military, economic, humanitarian and reconstruction needs, the official said.
The leaders’ statement on Friday will also leave the door open to outright confiscation of Russian assets, for which allies have not yet secured political will, largely citing legal and financial stability concerns.
Biden was to meet on Thursday with Ukraine’s Zelenskyy, the second meeting in as many weeks, to discuss a new bilateral security agreement between the US and Ukraine, as the international group of wealthy democracies looked for new ways to bolster Ukraine’s defenses. against Russia. The two leaders planned a joint press conference later.
The agreement on how to use frozen Russian assets to benefit Ukraine comes several months after the White House broke a congressional impasse that prevented approval of about $60 billion in U.S. aid to Ukraine. The delay gave Russia time to regain ground on the battlefield. Biden publicly apologized to Zelenskyy for the delay when they met last week in France.
Biden national security adviser Jake Sullivan described the security pact as a “true marker” of the US commitment to Ukraine, “not just for this month and this year, but for the many years to come.”
Zelenskyy, on social media, said the document was “unprecedented, as it should be for leaders who support Ukraine.”
Sullivan said the deal would not commit U.S. troops directly to defending Ukraine against Russian invasion. This is a red line drawn by Biden, who does not want the US to be drawn into a direct conflict with Moscow, which has nuclear weapons.
Dozens of countries and organizations are expected to meet over the weekend in Switzerland to discuss peace for Ukraine. Biden is not scheduled to attend the summit, and that disappointed Zelenskyy. Vice President Kamala Harris will represent the US as the Democratic president attends a fundraiser in Los Angeles.
Zelenskyy recently said the Swiss summit needed Biden’s participation because other leaders valued the US point of view. He said Biden’s absence “will just be an applause for Putin, a personal applause for Putin.”
It was not just Ukraine that occupied the allies’ attention.
Biden announced that Italy was joining a G7 initiative to provide development assistance to Africa, which is intended to be a bulwark against growing Chinese influence on the continent. Biden said that $60 billion mobilized by the US and the G7 is proof that “democracies can deliver”, while the US and its allies warn that China’s investments are associated with geopolitical and economic demands.
The annual summit opened Thursday in the picturesque southern Italian region of Puglia, with leaders meeting privately as they discussed the war in Gaza, support for Ukraine and other mutual concerns.
The informal grouping of industrialized democracies – the USA, Great Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, as well as European government bodies – meets annually. Italy holds the rotating presidency this year and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni welcomes her counterparts.
The trip is Biden’s second outside the US in as many weeks; he was in France last week for a state visit and ceremonies commemorating the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in World War II.
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Superville reported from Fasano, Italy. Associated Press writers Chris Megerian and Zeke Miller contributed to this report.
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