Continued support for Ukraine, tougher sanctions against Russia, a 50 billion loan and more: what the G7 leaders said in their final communiqué
Kyiv • UNN
The G7 leaders released their final communiqué after the summit in Italy. About three pages are devoted to support for Ukraine, including a statement on strengthening sanctions against Russia, a loan for Kyiv, and support for the Peace Summit.
The G7 communiqué, which was released after the summit in Italy, devoted about three pages to "Continued Support for Ukraine." The text emphasizes that Russia must end the war against Ukraine, compensate more than $486 billion in damages, pays special attention to strengthening sanctions against Russia and the responsibility of countries and individuals who help Russia circumvent restrictions, and, of course, confirms a $50 billion loan to Ukraine, UNN reports.
"We reaffirm our unwavering support for Ukraine for as long as it takes. Together with our international partners, we are determined to continue to provide military, budgetary, humanitarian and reconstruction support to Ukraine and its people. We remain committed to helping Ukraine meet its urgent short-term funding needs, as well as supporting its long-term recovery and reconstruction priorities.
Russia must end its illegal war of aggression and pay for the damage it has caused to Ukraine. According to the World Bank, these losses now exceed 486 billion US dollars. It is not right for Russia to decide if or when it will pay for the damage it has done to Ukraine. Russia's obligations under international law to pay for the damage it has caused are clear, and we continue to consider all possible legal avenues through which Russia can fulfill these obligations.
We remain determined to dispel any misconception that time is on Russia's side, that the destruction of infrastructure and livelihoods has no consequences for Russia, or that Russia can win by causing Ukraine's economic collapse. In order to support Ukraine's current and future needs in the face of a prolonged defense against Russia, the G7 will launch an Emergency Revenue Acceleration (ERA) Loan to Ukraine to make available approximately $50 billion in additional financing to Ukraine by the end of the year.
Thus, without prejudice to possible other contributions and collaborative work, the G7 intends to provide financing that will be serviced and repaid by future streams of extraordinary proceeds from the freezing of Russian sovereign assets located in the European Union and other relevant jurisdictions. To enable this, we will work to obtain authorization in these jurisdictions to use future flows of these extraordinary revenues to service and repay the loans. We reaffirm that, consistent with all applicable laws and our respective legal systems, Russian sovereign assets in our jurisdictions will remain immobilized until Russia stops its aggression and pays for the damage it has caused to Ukraine. We will remain united in our commitment to provide this support to Ukraine.
We intend to disburse this funding through multiple channels that target military, budgetary, and reconstruction needs in Ukraine-within the constraints of our respective legal systems and administrative requirements. With respect to reconstruction, we will also strengthen the Inter-Agency Donor Coordination Platform for Ukraine to help coordinate disbursements and ensure that they are aligned with Ukraine's highest priority needs at a pace that it can effectively absorb. This will play a key role in advancing reforms in Ukraine in line with its European path.
In view of the above, we instruct our respective ministers and officials to implement these commitments in a timely manner so that the ERA can start paying by the end of the year.
As we reiterated in our Statement on Ukraine in February, Ukraine is defending its freedom, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity against Russia's brutal and unjustified war of aggression. We continue to condemn in the strongest terms Russia's blatant violation of international law, including the UN Charter, and the basic principles that underpin the international order. Any use of nuclear weapons by Russia in the context of its war of aggression against Ukraine would be unacceptable. Therefore, we strongly condemn Russia's irresponsible and threatening nuclear rhetoric, as well as its posture of strategic intimidation, including the announced deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus. We remain committed to bringing those responsible to justice for their atrocities against the people of Ukraine in accordance with international law. We also condemn the arrests of foreign companies and call on Russia to reverse these measures and seek acceptable solutions with the companies targeted.
We support Ukraine's right to self-defense and reaffirm our commitment to Ukraine's long-term security, including through the implementation of bilateral security commitments and agreements based on the Joint Declaration adopted in Vilnius last July. We are expanding our production and delivery capabilities to help its self-defense. We also support efforts to help Ukraine modernize its armed forces and strengthen its own defense industry. We are committed to strengthening Ukraine's air defense capabilities to save lives and protect critical infrastructure.
We are committed to raising Russia's costs of war by building on the comprehensive package of sanctions and economic measures already in place. While our measures have had a significant impact on Russia's ability to build its war machine and finance its invasion, its army still poses a threat not only to Ukraine but to international security.
We will continue to take action against actors in China and third countries that materially support the Russian war machine, including financial institutions, in accordance with our legal systems and other companies in China that facilitate Russia's acquisition of goods for its defense industrial base.
In this context, we reiterate that entities, including financial institutions, that facilitate Russia's acquisition of items or equipment for its military-industrial base support actions that undermine Ukraine's territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence. Accordingly, we will impose restrictive measures in accordance with our legal systems to prevent abuse and limit access to our financial systems for targeted individuals and entities in third countries, including Chinese entities engaged in such activities. We will take decisive action against entities that assist Russia in circumventing our sanctions, including by imposing severe costs on all those who fail to immediately cease providing material support to Russia's aggression, as well as by strengthening domestic enforcement measures and increasing our business engagement to promote corporate responsibility. We call on financial institutions to refrain from supporting and profiting from the Russian war machine. We will take further action to prevent and stop such behavior.
We will continue to put significant pressure on Russia's energy and other commodity revenues. This will include improving the effectiveness of our oil price cap policy by taking further steps to strengthen compliance and enforcement, while working to preserve market stability. We will take measures, including sanctions and innovative enforcement actions using appropriate geographic regions, to combat Russia's use of deceptive alternative shipping practices to circumvent our sanctions through its shadow fleet. We urge industry participants who facilitate these activities to consider the financial liability and environmental and reputational risks associated with these practices. We will impose additional sanctions against those involved in fraudulent practices in the transportation of Russian oil, as well as against networks developed by Russia to generate additional revenue from price cap violations or from the sale of oil through alternative service providers. We will continue to take further action to limit Russia's future energy revenues by impeding the development of future energy projects and disrupting access to the goods and services on which those projects rely. We will continue our efforts to reduce Russia's metals revenues.
Ukraine's reconstruction remains a key priority, including early recovery measures and addressing the current energy emergency caused by Russia's increased attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. We reiterate our strong support for Ukraine's energy security, including by coordinating international assistance through the G7+Ukraine Energy Coordination Group. We will continue to cooperate with the Ukrainian authorities and international financial institutions through the Interagency Donor Coordination Platform in Ukraine, as well as by mobilizing private investment and promoting civil society participation.
We emphasize the reality of the 3.4 million internally displaced Ukrainians, the importance of inclusive recovery, and the need to address the needs of women, children and people with disabilities, as well as other groups disproportionately affected by Russian aggression. The reintegration of combatants and civilians with disabilities into society remains a priority. We call on Russia to release all those it has unlawfully detained and to safely return all civilians it has unlawfully transferred or deported, including children.
We reiterate our support for Ukraine's agricultural sector, which is critical to the global food supply, especially for the most vulnerable countries. We therefore call for unimpeded supplies of grain, food, fertilizers and raw materials from Ukraine through the Black Sea and recall the importance of the EU's Solidarity Routes and President Zelensky's Grain from Ukraine initiative.
We are also working to engage our private sectors in Ukraine's sustainable economic recovery.
We welcome and emphasize the importance of Ukraine's own continued internal reform efforts, especially in the areas of anti-corruption, justice system reform, decentralization, and promotion of the rule of law. We will continue to support the efforts of the Ukrainian government and people in these endeavors. We will build on the Japan-Ukraine Conference on Promoting Economic Growth and Reconstruction held in Tokyo on February 19 and the Ukraine Recovery Conference held in Berlin on June 11-12, and we look forward to the next Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome in 2025.
We welcome the Ukraine Peace Summit scheduled for June 15-16 in Switzerland to build a framework for peace based on international law, the UN Charter and its principles, respecting Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. We will continue to work to achieve the broadest possible international support for the key principles and goals of President Zelenskyy's Peace Formula.
"Our ultimate goal remains a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in accordance with international law and the UN Charter and its principles, and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. We will support Ukraine for as long as it takes," the text says.
