Ukraine aid from Russian assets moving forward in G-7 draft

Group of Seven finance ministers will lay the groundwork for using the profits from frozen Russia assets to help Ukraine, according a draft of the communique that they’re set to sign off on May 25.

The officials meeting in the northern Italian town of Stresa will set out the plan and progress in the statement, with a view to leaders taking up the baton when they meet in June in the south of the country, Bloomberg reports.

“We are discussing potential schemes to bring forward the extraordinary revenues stemming from immobilized Russian sovereign assets to the benefit of Ukraine,” the draft communique reads. “We reaffirm that, 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 communique can still change before it’s formally approved. Ministers are set to discuss Ukraine on Saturday, the second day of their meetings on Lake Maggiore.

Canadian Finance minister Chrystia Freeland acknowledged progress in the discussions on Friday, telling reporters that “we’re not there yet, but I am really optimistic that we’ll get there.”

The move comes after the US pushed for the G-7 to leverage future revenue generated from about $280 billion in Russian central bank funds, most of which lies immobilized in Europe. The plan could unlock an aid package of as much as $50 billion for Ukraine.