Leaders of the Group of Seven countries aim to agree at their three-day summit in Italy from Thursday to establish a fund for utilizing profits from frozen Russian assets, in a bid to strengthen support for Ukraine in its fight against Moscow's invasion.
The G7 nations are also expected to pledge their support for a U.S.-outlined cease-fire plan for the conflict between Israel and the militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip, a diplomatic source said, amid a deepening humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave.
With Russia's full-scale invasion having begun in February 2022, the G7 summit in Fasano, southern Italy, comes amid signs of "Ukraine fatigue," with questions looming around the long-term financing of Kyiv by the United States and other like-minded countries.
Before the summit, the G7 members, which have imposed economic sanctions on Moscow since its full-scale invasion began, were considering putting the interest earned on immobilized Russian sovereign assets toward funding support for Ukraine.
The G7, along with Australia, has frozen about $280 billion of Russia's national assets, as well as some $58 billion of those belonging to individuals, companies and organizations from the nation, according to the Japanese government.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government has focused on providing nonmilitary support for Ukraine's reconstruction within the scope of Japan's war-renouncing Constitution, such as demining cooperation and the provision of nonlethal defense equipment.
The World Bank has estimated the cost of rebuilding Ukraine to be $486 billion over the next decade, which Ukraine is likely to fund through loans, representing business opportunities for firms from Japan and across the globe.
As for the prolonged conflict between Israel and Hamas, U.S. President Joe Biden made public a three-stage cease-fire plan to end the war in late May, saying it has been proposed by Israel, traditionally supported by the United States.
The U.N. Security Council endorsed the plan earlier this month, but U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that Hamas has proposed numerous changes, describing some as unworkable, to the U.S.-backed proposal.
International pressure has been mounting on Israel to stop its military campaign in Gaza, which has displaced many Palestinians and caused severe shortages of food, water and energy.
The group of major industrialized democracies has condemned the "terrorist" attacks conducted by Hamas on Oct. 7 that triggered the ongoing Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, while avoiding criticizing Israel directly.
In Friday's sessions, the G7 members are set to discuss the situation in the Indo-Pacific region, where China has been intensifying its military activities, as well as economic security, artificial intelligence, energy and other issues.
The leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, plus the European Union, are expected to release a communique on Friday before Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni holds a wrap-up press conference on Saturday.
