The G7 leaders seek to discuss multiple issues ahead at the summit in Italy

The G7 leaders will meet from Thursday in Italy to try to deal with several topics, comes ahead agreeing on a mechanism that would allow the use of frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine defend itself.

The G7 major industrialized nations will meet under the chairmanship of Italy in the lavish seaside resort of Progo Iñasia in the southern region of Puglia.

The G7 includes the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and Japan.

Faced with the prospect of Donald Trump’s return to the White House and uncertainty about the implications of his election for Ukraine, the G7 is seeking to secure funding for its military aid to Kiev.

The G7 hopes to reach consensus on the use of Russian assets frozen by Western countries to provide financial support to Ukraine and help it rebuild the country.

EU countries approved in early May a deal to use proceeds from frozen Russian assets to arm Ukraine, a source that could generate 2.5 billion to 3 billion Euros a year.

But the United States wants to go further and has pressured the Group of Seven countries to join a massive loan of about $50 billion that will secure guarantees from future interest on frozen Russian assets.

However, many issues remain outstanding, notably who is issuing the debt and possible scenarios if the freeze on these assets is lifted when a peace agreement is concluded.

Paris reported that a preliminary agreement had been reached on the allocation of the fifty billion dollars before the end of 2024.

“There was an agreement… As usual in the G7, leaders make the decision and later experts do their job to materialize it”.

However, the United States is more conservative on this matter, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the G7 planned to announce a framework as well as a timetable to be finalized later.

Behind the scenes, other countries are demanding guarantees.

US President Joe Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky will sign a bilateral security agreement on Thursday in Italy, Sullivan said, providing for sending weapons and assistance to Ukraine.

Washington on Wednesday announced new sanctions to curb Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine by targeting entities based in Russia or in countries such as China, Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates.

During a visit to Berlin on Tuesday, Zelensky called for more air defenses to be sent to his country.

After Italy, the Ukrainian president will travel to Switzerland, which will host a conference on peace in Ukraine that will bring together more than 90 countries and organizations on Saturday and Sunday, in the absence of Russia and China.

In addition to the G7 leaders, Pope Francis, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Turkish Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Argentina’s Javier Milei and Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva were invited to the summit.

Among the sensitive topics for Washington and its Group of Seven allies is tension with Moscow-backed China, whose industrial surplus is flooded by Americans and Europeans that flood their markets with subsidized products at low prices.

The European Commission on Wednesday threatened to impose additional tariffs on Chinese electric cars, accusing Beijing of providing illegal subsidies to domestic makers.

However, Western countries will be careful not to take counterproductive measures that would hurt China’s hardest dealings.

Germany imports more than 200,000 cars a year from China and fears a trade war.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday expressed concern about divisions fueled by geopolitical rivalries.

Guterres, who will also attend the G7 summit, regretted that “the new tariff barriers adopted every year have doubled since 2019”.

A European official said the Puglia summit would be an occasion to coordinate the G7 strategy on the issue, which will be discussed on Friday.

The war in Gaza will be the focus of several working sessions with bilateral talks on the sidelines of the summit as well.

As the conflict between Israel and Hamas enters its ninth month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is touring the Middle East to try to reach a truce based on the proposal Biden unveiled at the end of May.

The G7 has previously voiced support for the proposal, but Hamas put forward amendments to it that Blinken deemed implementable on Wednesday.

Israel hasn’t officially disclosed its position and continues its relentless violent military campaign in the Gaza Strip in response to the unprecedented attack by Hamas in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.