The Group of Seven (G7) industrial democracies is considering ways to use the income from frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, according to a draft statement obtained by International media on Saturday.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the G7 has frozen around $300 billion of Russian assets. The draft statement highlights ongoing discussions on using the profits from these immobilized assets to aid Ukraine. A G7 source indicated that the statement is expected to remain largely unchanged before its official release later on Saturday.
Ukraine's Finance Minister, Serhiy Marchenko, will join the G7 finance ministers and central bankers at their meeting in Stresa, northern Italy. Ukraine is currently facing severe challenges from the ongoing Russian offensive in the north and east of the country.
The G7 officials are working on presenting options for Ukraine funding to their heads of government, who will meet at a summit in mid-June. "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 draft statement asserts.
Another key topic at the two-day meeting in Stresa has been China's increasing export dominance and what G7 ministers describe as its industrial "overcapacity."
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