G7 aims to tap income from US$300 billion frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine

“We are making progress in our discussions on potential avenues to bring forward the extraordinary profits stemming from immobilised Russian sovereign assets to the benefit of Ukraine,” the draft statement said on Saturday.

G7 negotiators have been discussing for weeks how to best exploit the assets, such as major currencies and government bonds, which are mostly held in European-based depositories.

The cautious wording of the statement, containing no figures or details, reflects numerous legal and technical aspects which still need to be hammered out before such a loan could be issued.

The statement would not undergo significant changes before a final version to be released later on Saturday, a G7 source said.

The ministers will be joined on Saturday by Ukraine’s Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko, whose war-torn country is struggling to contain a Russian offensive in the north and the east, more than two years after Moscow first invaded.

The finance ministers and central bankers meeting in Stresa, northern Italy, aimed to present options on the issue of Ukraine funding for G7 heads of government to consider at a summit in mid-June, the statement said.

China’s growing export strength and what G7 ministers call its industrial “overcapacity” have been another central theme of the two-day gathering in the northern Italian lakeside town.

“We express concerns about China’s comprehensive use of non-market policies and practices that undermines our workers, industries, and economic resilience,” the statement said.

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“We will continue to monitor the potential negative impacts of overcapacity and will consider taking steps to ensure a level