UK PM to urge US to provide US$ 20 billion loan to Ukraine before Trump takes office – media

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer plans to urge US President Joe Biden to allocate funds for a US$20 billion loan to Ukraine as part of a larger G7 loan before Donald Trump takes office.

According to The Telegraph, Starmer is pushing for face-to-face talks with Biden, the outgoing US president, when they both attend the G20 summit in Brazil next week.

One of the focuses of London's lobbying is to ensure that the G7 countries – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US – fulfil their promises to provide new loans to Ukraine.

Back in June, the G7 leaders agreed to provide Kyiv with US$50 billion, partly funded by interest earned on Russian assets that have been frozen since the Russian full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The US has promised to provide US$20 billion of the US$50 billion, but these funds have not yet been provided. Last month, US authorities said that the money was being prepared for disbursement this year.

One UK government official close to the political discussions said that the UK was ready to "hold Biden’s feet to the fire" to deliver on the pledge.

Starmer's talks at the G20 summit have not yet been agreed upon or announced, but Downing Street and Foreign Office officials expect a bilateral meeting with Biden to be agreed upon.

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy is expected to push for the same arguments for a loan pledge at the G7 foreign ministers' meeting in Rome later this month.

Starmer is also expected to say that Ukraine should finally get permission to launch long-range Storm Shadow missiles deep into Russia, which Biden opposes.

The European Commission has been considering allowing the Belgian depository Euroclear to directly use the proceeds from frozen Russian assets to protect a US$50 billion loan to Ukraine from Russian retaliation.

Last week, the G7 finalised the parameters of a US$50 billion loan to Ukraine, which was agreed upon at the June summit in Italy.

The contribution from the UK will amount to £2.26 billion, or US$2.94 billion.