US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a ten-year security agreement on Thursday, aimed at improving Ukraine's defense against Russian forces.
The deal, signed on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy, aims to commit the next US administration to support Ukraine, even if former President Donald Trump - who opposes aid to Kiev - wins the November election, officials said.
It is a framework for a long-term US effort to help modernize the Ukrainian armed forces, and should also serve as a step towards Ukraine's eventual membership in NATO, according to the text of the agreement.
"Our goal is to strengthen Ukraine's defense and deterrence capabilities in the long term," Biden said.
The American president indicated that the United States will ensure that Ukraine successfully defends itself, as well as deter future attacks on its territory.
"We will help Ukraine to be able to do both. We will not do this by sending American soldiers to fight in Ukraine, but by providing weapons and ammunition, sharing intelligence and training Ukrainian troops," Biden said.
The American president pointed out that the war, which Russia started against Ukraine, is a challenge for the whole world.
"Would we support Ukraine, sovereignty and freedom against tyranny? The US, the G7 and countries around the world have consistently said they will. We will repeat - we support Ukraine," Biden said during a joint address with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that it was a historic day.
"We have signed the most comprehensive agreement between Ukraine and the US since our independence. It is an agreement on security and protection of human lives. It will promote cooperation between our peoples. It will guarantee sustainable peace and benefit everyone in the world," said Zelensky.
He also noted that he received assurances from Chinese President Xi Jinping that that country will not supply Russia with weapons for the war against Ukraine.
"I had a telephone conversation with the Chinese leader. He said he would not sell arms to Russia. We'll see, if he's a man of his word he won't do it. Because he gave me his word," said Zelenski.
The Ukrainian president has long advocated NATO membership, but the allies have not taken that step. The Western military alliance, within the fifth article of the NATO treaty, considers that an attack on one of the 32 members is an attack on all of them.
"The parties recognize this agreement as support for the bridge to eventual membership of Ukraine in the NATO alliance," the text states.
Under the agreement, the US reiterates its support for Ukraine's defense of sovereignty and territorial integrity, in light of the advance of Russian forces on the eastern front.
"In order to ensure the security of Ukraine, both sides recognize that Ukraine needs a significant military force, strong capabilities and constant investment in its defense industrial base in accordance with NATO standards," the text states.
Zelensky previously said that he signed a 10-year security agreement with Japan on the sidelines of the summit and that the country will give Ukraine 4,5 billion dollars this year.
The group of seven richest democracies (G7) also agreed on Thursday that the income from interest on frozen Russian assets, worth about 300 billion dollars, will be used to finance a 50 billion loan to Ukraine.
"We have a political agreement at the highest levels. And we are talking about 50 billion this year that will be allocated for Ukraine," said a senior American official on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy, on condition of anonymity.
The official said the US had agreed to provide up to $50 billion on its own, but that sum could be significantly reduced as other countries announced their participation. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that all G7 members will contribute to the loan for Kyiv.
"It will be serviced from the profits from Russian frozen assets in Europe. Finance ministers are now determining the details and will provide clarifications as soon as possible," von der Leyen told reporters on the sidelines of the summit.
A senior EU official said the union might contribute half of the projected sum, and that an agreement on the final figure was still needed.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the G7's plans to provide additional financial support to Ukraine showed rich countries remained committed to the country, more than two years after the start of the Russian invasion.
Soltz told reporters that Russian President Vladimir Putin's plans to wait for international aid to Ukraine to end have failed.
A US administration official said there would be multiple ways for Ukraine to get the money, which could be used for a variety of purposes, including military, budget, reconstruction and humanitarian needs. The first installments of the loan should be paid this year.
Increasing support for Ukraine is the main topic of the G7 summit, which is being attended by the Ukrainian president for the second year in a row.
The European Union agreed earlier this year to use interest profits on assets of the Russian central bank, which were frozen by Western countries after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
However, the G7 wants to use that money to provide greater and faster aid, through a huge loan that will be given to Kyiv in advance, reports the Agence France-Presse.
The loan would be repaid with future profits - although there is a danger that this source of funding could "dry up" if the assets were unfrozen, for example in the event of a peace deal.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that Western attempts to take income from Russian property are criminal and will lead to a "very painful response" from Moscow.
The G7 leaders at the summit in Brindisi also supported efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, according to a draft joint statement that should be released after the summit. They also called on Israel to refrain from the offensive in Rafah, "in accordance with the obligations stipulated by international law." Biden said that he has not lost hope that an agreement on a truce will be reached, that "it will be difficult", but that Hamas must "do something" about it.
Russian frozen assets
The G7 proposal would see Western allies pay the aid using interest income from $280 billion worth of Russian assets frozen in Western financial institutions, estimated at a total of $10 billion a year, over XNUMX years or more.
The goal is a Leaders' Declaration at the end of the summit, "a framework that's not generic, that's pretty specific in terms of what it would entail," White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told VOA while speaking with reporters during Biden's trip to Italy. However, the "basic operational details" are yet to be worked out.
In April, Biden signed legislation seizing about five billion dollars in Russian assets that were immobilized in American financial institutions. But the bulk of the money, $190 billion, is in Belgium, with much of the rest in France and Germany.
A big source of concern for Europeans is who will be responsible for covering the losses if interest rates fall below expectations or if the sanctions that prevent the flow of those funds are not renewed. Russia considers the immobilization of its property after the invasion of Ukraine to be theft and has threatened to retaliate.
Although Ukraine is not a member of the G7, this is the second year in a row that Zelensky has attended the summit. He is leaving Italy for Switzerland for a peace conference in Ukraine during the weekend.
New American sanctions because of Russia
As Biden traveled to Italy, the US Treasury Department announced new sanctions targeting foreign individuals and companies that aid Moscow's military industrial base. Among them are companies based in China, which sell semiconductors to Russia.
That includes expanding secondary sanctions that allow the United States to blacklist all banks around the world that do business with Russian financial institutions that already face sanctions. The goal is to prevent smaller banks in China and other countries from financing the Russian war effort.
The sanctions also target networks used by Russia to procure critical materials for aerial drones, anti-drone equipment, industrial machinery and for the country's chemical and biological weapons program, the Treasury Department said.
"We are increasing the risk to financial institutions engaged in the Russian war economy, eliminating avenues of avoidance and reducing Russia's ability to use access to foreign technology, equipment, software and IT services," Treasury Secretary Janet Yelen said in a statement.
The Moscow Stock Exchange, Russia's largest financial market, announced it was halting trading in dollars and euros after being included in the new sanctions.
EU introduces tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles
In May, Biden imposed a drastic increase in tariffs to deal with what he calls China's overcapacity in strategic green technologies and is calling on the G7 to do the same.
The European Union answered the call on Wednesday by announcing that it would impose higher tariffs, up to 38,1 percent, on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), saying that imports "benefit greatly from unfair subsidies" and pose a "threat of economic harm" to manufacturers in Europe.
US tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles have quadrupled to 100 percent, while import tariffs on solar cells and semiconductors have doubled to 50 percent. Rates on certain steel and aluminum imports have been tripled to 25 percent. The additional tariffs covered $18 billion in Chinese goods.
Europe is taking action to address China's overcapacity just as the United States has, Sullivan said. A "common framework" on how to deal with various economic security issues raised by China is likely to be included in the final G7 communiqué, he added.
The punitive moves could provoke retaliation from Beijing, which accuses the West of promoting overcapacity claims to dull China's competitive advantage.
Biden arrived at the global forum after a family drama. On Tuesday, a day before leaving for the summit, his son Hunter Biden was found guilty on federal charges of possessing a weapon while addicted to drugs.
Biden said he would not use presidential powers to pardon his son. White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre declined to answer further questions, including the possibility of Hunter Biden's sentence being commuted when handed down by a judge.
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