Hungary will hold up a final deal on a $50 billion G7 loan to Ukraine until after the U.S. presidential election by delaying its decision on the timing of the renewal of EU sanctions against Russia, Hungary's finance minister said, Hungary's finance minister said, UNN reports citing Reuters.
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Washington needs the EU to change its sanctions renewal deadlines from the current six months to every three years so that it can contribute about $20 billion to the G7 loan, which matches the European Union's contribution, EU officials said.
The remaining $10 billion will be provided by G7 members Canada, the United Kingdom, and Japan, which are already participating.
The loan, agreed in principle by G7 leaders in June, will be serviced by proceeds from the Russian central bank's approximately $300 billion in assets frozen in the West after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.
According to officials, Washington does not want to worry every six months about whether or not the Russian assets that secure the loan will remain frozen.
We believe that this issue, the extension of Russian sanctions, should be resolved after the US elections. We have to see in which direction the future US administration will move on this issue
The European Union has said that the proceeds from all Russian assets frozen in the West could finance a loan of up to 45 billion euros ($49.44 billion).
Since most of the assets are located in Europe, the EU has said it could provide up to 35 billion euros for the G7 loan. This amount will be reduced by the amount contributed by the United States.
"This issue will be further discussed at a meeting of G7 finance ministers in Washington in late October, but Hungary's decision means that the final contributions of each G7 country will not be determined until after the November 5 elections," the newspaper notes.