G7 to back EU plan to use frozen Russian assets

At a conference on 24-25 May, Group of Seven finance ministers are expected to back an EU plan to utilise the income from frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine’s war effort.

Source: Reuters, citing an official in the Italian Ministry of Finance, as reported by European Pravda 

Details: The source said the G7 will support the EU's position on directing windfall income from frozen Russian assets to Ukraine, emphasising that the aim is to use the revenue generated by the assets rather than the assets themselves.

Any decision regarding the Russian Federation's assets should have EU support and a "solid legal basis", the Italian Finance Ministry representative said.

The official noted that the meeting will enable the G7 finance ministers to do preparatory work before the countries’ leaders make a final decision at the June summit.

The G7 froze approximately US$300 billion in Russian assets shortly after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Since then, the EU and G7 countries have been debating whether and how to utilise these funds to aid Ukraine.

The US proposed confiscating all Russian assets, but the EU declined, citing risks to the euro and legal issues. Washington recently put forward the idea of using the assets as collateral for loans to Ukraine.

On Wednesday 8 May, EU ambassadors approved a plan to utilise income from frozen Russian assets in Europe to buy arms for Ukraine. It is anticipated that the amount will range between €2.5 and €3 billion per year.

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