The G7 finance ministers at a meeting in Italy supported the US’ idea to provide Ukraine with a loan secured by profits from frozen Russian assets. The $50B loan will be repaid through the profits from about €190B in assets belonging to the Russian Central Bank. However, the loan details have not yet been fully agreed upon. However, the G7 leaders will present a few options for building the loan structure before the summit in June.
World Bank President Ajay Banga said he is open to managing the G7 credit fund for Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Hungary has blocked the EU’s channeling of profits from Russian assets to the purchase of weapons for Ukraine. Hungary was offered an option in which its share of funds would not be used for weapons. This has convinced Budapest not to veto the scheme, but it is delaying implementation by failing to support the necessary legislation. Diplomats hope these problems will be resolved before the payment scheduled for July.