G7 to finalize plan by October on $50 billion loan for Ukraine backed by Russian assets revenue.

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The Group of Seven (G7) will likely finalize a framework agreement for a £50 billion loan for Ukraine backed by frozen Russian assets revenue by October, EU Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said on July 25. During the G7 summit in Italy on June 13, G7 leaders publicly confirmed an agreement on the plan to provide Ukraine with a £50 billion loan by the end of the year, which will be repaid using interest from billions in frozen Russian assets. The funds for covering the loan will not come from the confiscation of Russian assets themselves, but through profits generated by them and accumulated over time.

While Western countries have frozen £300 billion in Russian assets, they can only access the annual income generated by these funds, approximately £3.2 billion. The vast majority of the assets are frozen in European countries. "I think we are making very good progress technically, but also politically," Gentiloni said on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro, as quoted by Reuters.

Reuters said that a G7 source had described the discussion on the plan as "detailed and positive," and that there was "shared optimism that all remaining questions can be resolved."

Speaking at the G7 summit in June, President Volodymyr Zelensky called on G7 leaders to back the £50-billion plan but also urged the creation of a mechanism for the full confiscation of £300 billion in frozen Russian funds.

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