USA-Ukraine/Photocollage
The United States is ready to provide Ukraine with a $50 billion loan to be repaid with the proceeds of frozen Russian assets. This requires the European Union to extend sanctions against Moscow indefinitely, according to the Financial Times.
Washington demands that the EU extend sanctions against Russian state assets, which currently expire every six months, until the end of the war. This is necessary to ensure that the United States does not remain solely responsible for the repayment of loans to Ukraine.
Any changes to the EU sanctions regime require the approval of all leaders, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who openly defends his veto over sanctions. The US proposal is detailed in an EU discussion paper prepared for a virtual meeting of the bloc’s finance ministers, where they will discuss how to raise funds for Kyiv.
Washington insists on reaching an agreement before the G7 summit in Italy next week, where a financing mechanism using the profits from frozen assets is likely to become a central element of support for Ukraine, the European Pravda clarifies.
The main option under consideration is a US plan to provide Ukraine with a loan, possibly together with other G7 countries, roughly equal to the “super-profits” from hundreds of billions of dollars of frozen Russian assets held in the West. Diplomats say it could be up to $50 billion.
Earlier reports indicated that the G7 finance ministers supported the idea of granting Ukraine a loan secured by the proceeds of frozen Russian assets to provide financing for Kyiv after 2024.