US administration: “Kyiv desperately needs a lifeline”
The US is pushing for a $50 billion loan to Ukraine using frozen Russian assets ahead of the G7 summit.
U.S. officials are rushing to finalize an agreement that could provide about $50 billion in loans to Ukraine using profits from frozen Russian assets, a top priority ahead of President Joe Biden's meeting with G7 leaders in Italy this week, but the countries The G7 has yet to reach a final consensus. according to sources familiar with US preparations for the summit.
CNN reports that the Biden administration is waging a campaign to persuade the leaders of the other G7 countries — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan — sign off on a plan she says is vital to giving Ukraine a chance to change its prospects on the battlefield as it continues to fend off a Russian offensive.
The ultimate goal, the sources said, is to agree on some of the more thorny financial details in the coming days so that a deal can be announced as part of a communiqué from G7 leaders this week. But questions about the terms of such a program, including, among other things, the exact form of payment and the money-back guarantee, are still being worked out.
US officials say the dire situation in Ukraine makes approval of such a loan extremely urgent. Even if the details of what officials hope could be a loan package of up to $50 billion have not yet been agreed upon, G7 countries agree on the urgency of the moment and that Ukraine desperately needs a lifeline.
< p>Uniting the world's richest economies to support such a plan would send a clear message to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, U.S. officials say.
“This is a priority for the United States. We believe this is a priority for the entire G7,” Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters last week. “We want every country to use a method by which we can mobilize resources for Ukraine on such a scale that they can have everything they need to succeed.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will attend the G7 meeting to once again demand more help on the world stage, adds CNN.
Biden's upcoming trip to Italy comes after his multi-day visit to France, where the main topic was US support for Kyiv's military efforts. Biden met with Zelensky as his administration announced a $225 million security aid package to Ukraine.
Vowing that the United States “will not give up on you,” Biden this week publicly apologized to Zelensky for the months-long delay by Congress in approving additional American aid to Ukraine. This delay, as US officials have said in recent months, has undoubtedly resulted in Ukraine losing valuable battlefield positions.
“I apologize for not knowing for several weeks what would be decided.” in terms of funding, because we had problems passing a bill that we had to get money from some of our very conservative members who supported it, but we got it done,” Biden told his Ukrainian counterpart.