A Ukrainian rescuer works at the site of a missile attack in Kharkiv on May 23, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russian strikes on Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv killed at least seven people, authorities said, as Moscow claimed fresh advances on the front line. (Sergey Bobok/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)
(Tribune News Service) — Group of Seven finance ministers will lay the groundwork for using the profits from frozen Russia assets to help Ukraine, according to a draft of the communique that they’re set to sign off on Saturday.
The officials meeting in the northern Italian town of Stresa will set out the plan and progress in the statement, with a view to leaders taking up the baton when they meet in June in the south of the country.
“We are discussing potential schemes to bring forward the extraordinary revenues stemming from immobilized Russian sovereign assets to the benefit of Ukraine,” the draft communique reads. “We reaffirm that, consistent with our respective legal systems Russia’s sovereign assets in our jurisdictions will remain immobilized until Russia pays for the damage it has caused to Ukraine.”
The communique can still change before it’s formally approved. Ministers are set to discuss Ukraine on Saturday, the second day of their meetings on Lake Maggiore.
Canadian Finance minister Chrystia Freeland acknowledged progress in the discussions on Friday, telling reporters that “we’re not there yet, but I am really optimistic that we’ll get there.”
The move comes after the U.S. pushed for the G-7 to leverage future revenue generated from about $280 billion in Russian central bank funds, most of which lies immobilized in Europe. The plan could unlock an aid package of as much as $50 billion for Ukraine.
With assistance from Brian Platt, William Horobin, Jorge Valero, Alessandra Migliaccio, Kamil Kowalcze, Toru Fujioka, Viktoria Dendrinou and Tom Rees.
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