Meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Finance Summit in India, the G7 Finance Ministers announced, on Thursday 23 February, that they will increase their macrofinancial assistance to Ukraine to $39 billion for 2023.
These substantial commitments and their rapid disbursement will allow the Ukrainian government to meet its wartime budgetary commitments and provide basic public services, the ministers said in their statement, urging the IMF and Ukraine to reach an agreement by the end of March on a credible, fully financed macrofinancial assistance programme with conditionality.
Convinced that their sanctions on Russia are undermining the Kremlin’s ability to finance its military aggression against Ukraine, the G7 countries say they are ready to adopt new sanctions and cooperate to prevent their circumvention.
The ministers reiterate that, contrary to Russian disinformation, the sanctions against Russia are not intended to increase energy or food insecurity.
In the current circumstances, the G7 countries believe it is necessary to maintain “agile and flexible” fiscal policies, including the continuation of temporary targeted support for vulnerable groups and catalysing investment in the climate and digital transitions.
See the G7 countries’ statement: https://aeur.eu/f/5h4 (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)