The G-7 debates a package of financial aid to Ukraine

The seven most industrialized countries in the world meet this Thursday and Friday in the German town of Königswinter, near Bonn, with the aim of debating a financial aid package to Ukraine.

“Ukraine defends our values ​​and therefore we have the responsibility to help you financially,” said the German finance minister, the liberal Christian Lindner, before beginning the deliberations with the rest of the finance ministers of the G-7 countries. According to Lindner, they seek to “ensure Ukraine’s payment capacity”, and refused to confirm the figure of 15,000 million euros that some media have published.

The priority of this meeting of the G-7 (United States, Japan, Canada, France, Italy, United Kingdom and Germany) is to complete a new round of financing to cover the Ukrainian budget for the current quarter. To do this, they hold conversations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the world Bank.

$5 billion a month

“I am quite optimistic about the fact that we will be able, with the G-7, to raise the funds that will allow Ukraine to defend itself over the next few months,” said Lindner, whose country chairs the group of powers this year.

To keep its economy afloat, kyiv estimates that it needs $5 billion a month. “We ask for high financial support, but the price is also high. For us it is a way of surviving,” the Ukrainian economy minister recently told AFP. Sergiy Marchenko.

Of the huge $40 billion aid package for Ukraine that US President Joe Biden announced last week, some $7.5 billion should go to Ukraine’s budget, G-7 ministerial sources clarified. “I will ask my counterparts to join us in increasing their financial support to Ukraine. Ukraine needs … our help and it needs it now,” said Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellenupon arrival in Königswinter.

For its part, the European Commission proposed on Wednesday a “new macro-financial aid” for this year of “up to 9,000 million euros.”

Frozen Russian assets

One of the options being considered to finance aid to Ukraine is the possibility of using Russian assets frozen by Western sanctions. Germany considers that it is a “politically conceivable” hypothesis but stresses, like France, that there are many legal obstacles.

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“We have to carefully examine the limitations imposed on us,” the French finance minister said. “We have to respect the rule of law, even if we are dealing with Russian oligarchs,” added the German minister.

The heads of Finance of the G-7 will also address the global economic recovery after the pandemic and inflation, which was already high and has skyrocketed after the outbreak of the war, as well as measures to protect the countries with the greatest difficulties due to the sharp rise in food and energy prices.