G7 Agrees to Lend Ukraine $50 Billion Frozen Russian Assets to Rebuild
[guest post by Dana]
Too bad it’s just the benefits, but it’s still really great news:
Western leaders have agreed to loan Ukraine up to $50 billion to fight Russia and rebuild after the lengthy war, money that will be repaid over time from the interest accumulating on frozen Russian financial assets, a senior U.S. official told reporters.
. . .
Leaders of the G7 economies have agreed to use the interest generated by the assets — about $3 billion per year — to help Ukraine.
While details are still being worked out, there is a disagreement over the disbursement timetable:
The European proposal had been for about $3 billion a year go to Ukraine, and only interest from a certain part of the frozen Russian assets — $190 billion held by a company called Euroclear in Belgium — to be shared.
The U.S., on the other hand, wanted to give $60 billion to Ukraine up front, because Ukraine’s need on the battlefield is dire. Officials had said the interest generated from the frozen Russian assets would go toward paying back that money.
Scheherazade Rehman, a professor of international finance at George Washington University said that:
Washington has the weaker hand in the debate because only about $5 billion of the $300 billion in Russian assets are held in the United States — and European nations are concerned about how they would be paid back for a big initial lump sum.
Of course, Russia isn’t taking the news well. Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that using the money was “criminal” and that it would “be very painful for the European Union” as a result.
A somewhat related postscript: It’s just not looking too good for Russia:
RUBLE IS COLLAPSING
⚡️⚡️⚡️ In St. Petersburg, Russia lines are forming at money changers after the news broke about the new US sanctions that caused the suspension of currency trading on the Moscow Exchange.
👉 The Ruble is going bust!! pic.twitter.com/Im8oLbx7n7
— Jason Jay Smart (@officejjsmart) June 12, 2024
—Dana