U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday that G7 and European Union allies are "very close" to finalizing a $50 billion loan to Ukraine backed by frozen Russian assets, with an expected U.S. contribution of about $20 billion, Paralel.Az reports citing Reuters.

Yellen told a news conference at the start of International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings that she has a high degree of confidence that the Russian sovereign assets, mostly held in Europe, will remain immobilized despite the continued need for EU renewal of the freeze every six months.

"We're very close to finalizing America's portion of this $50 billion loan package," Yellen said when asked about final negotiations over the loan intended to go to Ukraine by the end of this year.

She emphasized that the U.S. contribution would be repaid from the earnings on Russian assets, and not by U.S. taxpayers.