BARI, Italy — Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) developed nations gathered on Thursday for the first day of a summit in southern Italy, hoping to seal a deal on providing $50 billion for Ukraine using frozen Russian assets.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would join United States President Joe Biden and leaders from Italy, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada and Japan at the luxurious Borgo Egnazia resort in the southern Puglia region.
The G7 leaders hope to agree on an urgent $50-billion loan to help Kyiv with defense, budgetary support and help for reconstruction after more than two years of war with Russia.
The loan would be secured against the future profits from interest on 300 billion euros ($325 billion) of Russian central bank assets frozen by Western allies.
"We are on the verge of a good outcome here," US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters ahead of the summit's formal opening. "Hopefully, by the time that leaders meet today, we will have a common vision on the way forward."
But he said delegations were still thrashing out the details, including how many countries would "step up" and the kind of financial vehicle involved.
"We have the major tentpoles of this decided, but some of the specifics will be left to be worked through by experts on a defined timetable," he told reporters.
French President Emmanuel Macron's office on Wednesday said a deal had been agreed on providing $50 billion for Ukraine before the end of the year, but said technical details still needed to be finalized.
The European Union agreed earlier this year to use the profits from the frozen Russian assets for Ukraine, worth up to 3 billion euros a year.
But the idea at the G7 is to use this to provide more and faster help through a massive upfront loan.
Zelenskyy is attending the summit as part of a week of diplomatic efforts to rally support, which will culminate in an international conference on Ukraine in Switzerland this weekend.
G7 nations are also expected to announce additional bilateral support, with Biden and Zelenskyy due to sign a US-Ukraine security deal, and the UK announcing up to $310 million for Kyiv.
The US this week announced a raft of new sanctions aimed at constraining Moscow's war machine, while raising the stakes for foreign banks that still deal with Russia.
Political flux
The summit comes at a time of extraordinary global turmoil.
In addition to the conflict in Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas war continues to rage and economic tensions are rising between China and Western countries.
Many G7 countries are also in political flux. Everyone in Puglia is aware this could be Biden's last G7 summit if he loses to his predecessor Donald Trump in the US' November elections.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is tipped to be ousted in July 4 elections, while French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are both under pressure after gains by the far right in European Union legislative elections last weekend.
The G7 summit opened on Thursday morning with a short session on Africa, development and climate change, before turning to the Middle East.
The leaders have already announced their support for a Gaza truce deal outlined by Biden, which would also see the release of hostages taken in Hamas' attacks on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Jordan's King Abdullah II — a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause whose country signed a peace treaty with Israel 30 years ago — is among around a dozen non-G7 guests also attending who are not, however, participating in the working sessions.
They include Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva — whose country holds the rotating Group of 20 presidency this year — as well as Argentina's Javier Milei and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, also plan to attend.