Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Borgo Egnazia in Italy, June 13, 2024 (AFP / Ludovic MARIN)
G7 leaders meeting in Italy on Thursday welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with open arms, sealing an agreement on the use of Russian assets frozen by the West to help kyiv defend itself.
Mr. Zelensky joined the heads of state and government of the “Group of 7” (United States, Germany, France, Italy, United Kingdom, Canada, Japan) in Borgo Egnazia, near Bari in Puglia (south ).
Joe Biden, Olaf Scholz, Emmanuel Macron and their counterparts met in this luxurious seaside resort to discuss new aid and a complex financial support mechanism to make assets grow, for the benefit of Ukraine. Russians frozen by the West.
The President of the European Commission Usrsula von der Leyen and the President of the European Council Charles Michel are also invited to the table of the great powers, from which Russia was excluded after its annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Volodymyr Zelensky did not make a statement upon his arrival but indicated earlier in the day on Telegram that he expected “important decisions to be made today.”
After Paris and Berlin, Washington actually confirmed “a political agreement” on Russian assets on Thursday.
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 funding for this aid.
At the initiative of the United States, they therefore adopted the principle of a loan of 50 billion 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 that the 50 billion target is reached, but there will be other lenders, which means that the true American figure is lower”, explained a senior White House official.
“This is a solidarity loan,” he stressed. The share of each country in this loan is not yet known.
US President Joe Biden gets off Air Force One upon arrival at Brindisi airport, Italy, June 12, 2024 (AFP / PIERO CRUCIATTI)
President Joe Biden and Volodymyr Zelensky will also sign a bilateral security agreement in Italy on Thursday, and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will announce new aid of 242 million pounds (286 million euros).
– Tensions with China –
Washington also announced on Wednesday a new round of sanctions aimed at curbing the Russian war effort, targeting entities located in Russia and in countries such as China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
Traveling to Berlin on Tuesday, Mr. Zelensky called on his allies to increase their deliveries of anti-aircraft assets. He will then travel to Switzerland for a “Conference on Peace in Ukraine” which will bring together more than 90 countries and organizations on Saturday and Sunday, but neither Russia nor China.
From left to right, European Council President Charles Michel, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, in Borgo Egnazia in Italy, June 13, 2024 (AFP / Ludovic MARIN)
Another sensitive subject for Washington and its G7 allies, tensions with China, support of Moscow and of which Americans and Europeans denounce the industrial overcapacity which floods their markets with subsidized products at low prices.
Accusing Beijing in particular of illegally boosting its electric vehicle manufacturers, the European Commission threatened on Wednesday to impose additional customs duties. China threatened to file a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Thursday.
Alarmed by the outbidding between the West and Beijing, the Secretary General of the United Nations deplored the “divisions” between the two blocs “fueled by geopolitical rivalries”.
“The new customs barriers introduced each year have almost doubled since 2019,” lamented Antonio Guterres, who will also participate in the G7.
– The war in Gaza –
According to a European official, the Puglia summit must serve to “coordinate” the G7 strategy on this issue which will be on the agenda for debate on Friday.
Finally, the war in Gaza should occupy part of the working sessions and the numerous bilateral talks on the sidelines of the summit.
As the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas entered its 9th month, American Secretary of State Antony Blinken made yet another tour of the Middle East to try to save the ceasefire plan announced on May 31 by Joe Biden.
The G7 has already expressed its support for this plan but Hamas has proposed certain “unworkable” amendments, according to Mr. Blinken. For its part, Israel has not officially announced its position and continues without respite its offensive, launched on the Gaza Strip in response to the bloody attack carried out on October 7 by Hamas on its soil.
