FRANKFURT, Germany ( AP )– Finance officials from the Group of Seven wealthy governments said they had moved toward deal on a U. S. plan to squeeze more money for Ukraine from Soviet assets frozen in their places. But the ministers left a last offer to be worked out ahead of a June mountain of regional officials.
“We are making headway in our conversations on possible routes to bring forth the amazing income stemming from incapacitated Soviet republic property to the benefit of Ukraine, ” the draft statement said, without providing details.
Despite the progress made at the the appointment in Stresa, on the shores of Lago Maggiore in northern Italy, a final choice on how the property will be used will rest with the G7 regional leaders, including U. S. President Joe Biden, second month at their monthly summit in Fasano, in southern Italy.
Guest Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said that “progress has been made so much” but that there were “legal and technical problems that have to be overcome. ”
“It is not an easy job but we are working on it, ” he said at a news conference following the end of the meeting.
Russian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko joined the finance ministries and central banks faces at their concluding conference on Saturday.
The U. S. Congress has passed legislation allowing the Biden administration to seize the around$ 5 billion in Russian assets located in the U. S. , but European countries have a strong voice in the matter since most of the$ 260 billion in Russian central bank assets frozen after the Feb. 24, 2022, war are held in their areas.
Citing legitimate concerns, Western officials have balked at openly collecting the money and handing it to Ukraine as payment for the damage caused by Russia.
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Instead, they plan use the interest accumulating on the assets, but that ’s only around$ 3 billion a year – about one month’s financing needs for the Ukrainian government.
U. S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is pushing for borrowing against the potential interest money from the frozen resources. That would mean Ukraine could be given as much as$ 50 billion immediately.
But the plan has run into problems from Western people about the legal complexities, and about concerns that Russia may retaliate against the reduced number of Western companies and individuals who still have holdings in Russia, or against the Euroclear securities bank in Belgium where the bulk of the funds is held.
Russia has published a decree from President Vladimir Putin allowing confiscation of assets of U. S. companies and individuals as compensation for any Russian assets seized in the United States.
The ministers also discussed what to do about China ’s outsized, state-backed production of green energy technology, which the U. S. considers a threat to the global economy. The U. S. has imposed major new tariffs on electric vehicles, semiconductors, solar equipment and medical supplies imported from China. Included is a 100 % tariff on Chinese-made EVs, meant to protect the U. S. economy from cheap Chinese imports.
The U. S. position has been that Chinese overcapacity is an issue not just for the U. S. but also for other G7 and developing countries. That’s because China ’s selling of low-priced goods threatens the existence of competing companies around the world.
The G7 is an informal forum that holds an annual summit to discuss economic policy and security issues. The member countries are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. Representatives of the European Union also take part, but the EU does not serve as one of the rotating chairs.
