The G7 Summit continues to support Ukraine against Russia
The G7 summit, which began on the 13th in Puglia, southern Italy, is a three-day meeting attended not only by member countries but also by representatives from the European Council and the European Commission of the European Union (EU). The summit focused on climate change and the development in Africa, Middle East conflicts, Russo-Ukrainian conflict, and economic security issues such as Russia’s frozen assets, China’s overproduction, and AI concerns. This G7 summit may be Joe Biden’s last participation, and other attending countries are preparing for the potential return of Donald Trump.
G7 leaders unanimously agreed to use the interest profits from approximately $300 billion of frozen Russian assets to provide Ukraine with a new $50 billion loan. During the summit, Joe Biden and Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed a bilateral security agreement that will utilize the frozen Russian assets to assist Ukraine.
According to BBC, this agreement will expand intelligence sharing, train the Ukrainian military, and invest in Ukrainian industrial bases. Zelenskiy welcomed this development, but CNN reported that the agreement, while signaling support for Ukraine, could still be canceled by the newly elected government. Additionally, Ukraine and Japan signed a ten-year security agreement, with Japan providing $4.5 billion by 2024 to support Ukraine’s defense, humanitarian aid, technology, and financial cooperation.
G7 also issued warnings regarding certain Chinese small banks assisting Russia in evading Western sanctions. They expressed concern about China’s subsidies leading to overproduction in green energy technologies such as electric cars and solar panels, as well as China’s restrictions on exporting key materials like lithium, germanium, and graphite. While Japan, the United States, and the European Union strongly opposed China’s actions, Germany and France maintained a cautious stance and were unwilling to follow the U.S.'s approach towards China.
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