G7 leaders back US-Ukraine bilateral security agreement in Italy

euronews (in English)

The G7 summit is focused on addressing global conflicts, the implications of artificial intelligence, and Italy's longstanding concerns regarding uncontrolled migration from Africa to Europe.

Transcript

00:00The G7 summit has begun in Italy, with global conflicts, particularly the Ukraine war, top

00:07of the agenda.

00:09Italy's Prime Minister, Giorgia Maloney, opens the meeting.

00:31U.S. President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are expected to sign a

00:37bilateral security agreement later on, which would use the interest earned on frozen Russian

00:43assets to help Ukraine's war effort.

00:47Although European officials have so far resisted confiscating the assets completely, an agreement

00:53has been reached between the G7 nations that the U.S. can back a $50 billion loan to Ukraine

01:00using the frozen assets as collateral.

01:05But the U.S. has said it will not commit troops directly to Ukraine's defense, over fears

01:10it would be drawn into direct conflict with Russia.

01:15And although a political decision by the leaders has been made, the technical and legal details

01:20of the agreement still need to be worked out.

01:24And it's not straightforward.

01:26If the Russian assets are one day unfrozen, the windfall profits will no longer be able

01:31to be used to pay off the loan, requiring a burden-sharing agreement with other countries.

01:41But with a number of G7 leaders facing elections later in the year, the pressure to make progress

01:47on global security matters is high.

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