Japan arranging to shoulder $3.3 bln for Ukraine from frozen Russian assests

 

Japan is arranging to shoulder $3.3 billion in loans to Ukraine as part of support to be provided by Group of Seven members utilizing interest from Russian sovereign assets frozen as part of their sanctions over Moscow's invasion of its neighbor, diplomatic sources said Tuesday, Paralel.Az reports citing Kyodo News.

The G7 members have been coordinating how to disburse the aid after their leaders agreed during their summit in Italy in June to provide $50 billion in total to support Ukraine, which has been under invasion by Russia since February 2022.

The United States and the European Union are each expected to shoulder $20 billion, while Japan, Britain and Canada are set to share the remaining $10 billion, the sources said. The G7 is aiming to begin the project by the end of this year.

France, Germany and Italy are unlikely to participate in the lending program for the time being as the European Union already has a similar support plan, the sources said.

The G7 finance ministers and central bank chiefs are poised to discuss the issue when they gather in Rio de Janeiro later this month on the sidelines of a meeting with their counterparts from the Group of 20 economies, the sources said.

The loan deal was struck amid concern over "Ukraine fatigue," with doubts persisting about how long the United States and other like-minded partners can stand together in supplying Kyiv with weapons and helping it rebuild destroyed infrastructure.

The G7 leaders said in their communique released after their summit in Italy that they intend to allocate the funds to Ukraine "within the constraints of our respective legal systems and administrative requirements."

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