G7 FMs meet to thrash out Ukraine aid plan

FE Team | Published: May 19, 2022 22:58:00

KÖNIGSWINTER (Germany): G7 Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of Seven industrialised nations (G7) pose here on Thursday. G7 allies are hoping to sign off on a financial support package for Ukraine with the Russian invasion putting Kyiv's finances under severe pressure — AFP

KÖNIGSWINTER, May 19 (AFP): G7 partners met in Germany on Thursday hoping to find a solution for Kyiv's budget troubles as the fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues to roil the global economy.
"I'm quite optimistic that we will be able at this G7 meeting to raise funding which allows Ukraine to defend itself over the next months," German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said at the opening of the meeting in Koenigswinter, near Bonn.
The outbreak of the war has blown a hole in Kyiv's finances, with tax incomes having fallen sharply.
A "double-digit billion euro" figure was needed to assure Ukraine's "liquidity", Lindner said.
The war in Ukraine has triggered a sharp rice in energy prices, raw materials and agricultural goods, heaping pressure on the global economy.
In Europe, the continent's heavy reliance on Russian energy imports also leaves it exposed to further fuel price rises or potential disruptions to supply.
"The bilateral and multilateral support announced so far will not be sufficient to address Ukraine's needs, even in the short term," US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a speech in Brussels on Tuesday.
Yellen, who is attending the Koenigswinter gathering of the Group of Seven industrialised nations, called on US partners to "join us in increasing their financial support" for war-scarred Ukraine.