Ottawa is ready to guarantee up to $5 billion for Ukraine | War in Ukraine

Canada is ready to contribute up to $5 billion in financing to guarantee a total loan of US$50 billion (C$69 billion) that the members of the G7, meeting in Italy, intend to grant to Ukraine, government sources confirmed to Radio-Canada.

These funds will be drawn from future income from Russian sovereign assets frozen since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Washington confirmed Thursday a political agreement on Russian assets.

Faced with the prospect of a return to the White House of Donald Trump and the uncertainty surrounding the consequences of his election for Ukraine, the G7 countries, which include Ukraine’s main military and financial supporters since the Russian invasion of February 2022, want to secure the financing of this aid.

At the initiative of the United States, they therefore approved the principle of a loan of 50 billion US dollars for kyiv, guaranteed by future interests generated by immobilized Russian assets.

The United States is willing to lend up to $50 billion to ensure the $50 billion target is met, but there will be other lenders, meaning the true US figure is lowerexplained a senior White House official.

This is a solidarity loan, he stressed. The share of each country in this loan is not yet known.

The leaders of the G7 member countries, Canada, the United States, Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and Japan, are gathered in the Italian resort of Borgo Egnazia, in Puglia , until Friday.

The President of the European Commission Usrsula von der Leyen and the President of the European Council Charles Michel are also invited to the great powers table, as is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The latter will sign a bilateral security agreement with US President Joe Biden on Thursday.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will announce new aid of 242 million pounds (425 million Canadian dollars).

Sending 2000 rockets to Ukraine

In addition, the Canadian government will begin shipping approximately 2,000 decommissioned CRV7 rockets to Ukraine.

Ottawa will also donate 29 surplus Nanuk remote-controlled weapon systems and more than 130,000 rounds of surplus small arms ammunition.

Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair made the announcement Thursday during a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Belgium.

We cannot let Ukraine down, because what happens there will help determine the future of international rules that keep us all safehe declared, in a press release.

After the G7 Summit, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will travel to Switzerland on Saturday to attend the Ukraine Peace Summit, where a larger group of countries will meet to discuss a first step towards peace. peace in this country.

Swiss officials said the conference aimed to chart a path toward lasting peace in Ukraine, to achieve a common understanding to get there and to develop a road map on how to involve both sides in the talks.

Canada will in turn host the G7 Summit next year.

With information from Agence France-Presse and The Canadian Press