John Jefferson
Watch live as Joe Biden and Volodymyr Zelensky hold a press conference after a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy.
Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) major democracies agreed an outline deal on Thursday to provide $50 billion of loans for Ukraine using interest from Russian sovereign assets frozen after Moscow launched its invasion of its neighbour in 2022.
The political agreement was the centrepiece of the opening day in southern Italy of the annual summit, attended for a second successive year by Mr Zelensky, Ukraine’s President.
He will also sign a new, long-term security accord with Mr Biden on Thursday, as well as one with fellow G7 member Japan.
Many of the G7 leaders are struggling at home but re determined to make a difference on the world stage as they also seek to counter China’s economic ambitions.
“There is a lot of work to be done, but I am sure that in these two days we will be able to have discussions that will lead to concrete and measurable results,” Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni told her G7 guests as their talks started in a luxury hotel resort in the southern region of Puglia.
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