The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, an increasingly assertive China from an economic and military point of view, Africa and migration, artificial intelligence: these are some of the contents of the 50th G7 summit which opens this morning and ends on Saturday in Borgo Egnazia . The leaders were welcomed by Giorgia Meloni, strengthened by her success in the European elections, which instead weakened Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz, while Joe Biden – who will leave already on Friday evening – is in full electoral campaign, as is Rishi Sunak, who is unlikely to be prime minister again after July 4th.
09:41
Mbs writes to Meloni and apologizes for his absence
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sent a letter to the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, thanking her for the invitation to participate in the G7 and apologizing for his absence at the summit in Puglia. This was reported by the official Saudi press agency Spa. Bin Salman explained that he was unable to travel to Italy as he was busy “supervising the Hajj season”, the traditional pilgrimage to Mecca scheduled for these days. Bin Salman – it is explained – “underlined the depth of the relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the friendly Italian Republic” wishing “success to the work of the summit”.
09:36
The White House: “Progress on Russian assets, Meloni will make the announcement”
“Good progress” has been made within the G7 to reach an agreement on the use of “proceeds” from frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine. This was reported by the US National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, in a briefing with a small group of journalists. The Italian presidency of the summit, Sullivan said, will be able to announce that there is a “path forward” on this issue. Noting that this is the fourth G7 that President Joe Biden has attended, Sullivan stressed that the leaders are “more united than they have ever been” on major issues.
09:31
Sullivan: “The world should encourage Hamas to accept the truce agreement”
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with journalists on the sidelines of the summit in Borgo Egnazia, shortly before the start of the first working session. He spoke, among other things, about the Middle East and said: “The world should encourage Hamas to accept the ceasefire agreement”
08:37
Guterres: “G7 is an opportunity to make progress on Ukraine, Gaza and climate”
Peace in Ukraine can only come by respecting the principle of territorial integrity, so Putin must renounce conquests. The UN is ready to make a contribution to Gaza to guarantee its government and stability. The G7 must accelerate climate initiatives. As for migration, the Mattei Plan can be useful, as long as Italy does not forget how it is “essential to distinguish between refugees and migrants”. These are the requests of the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in an interview with Repubblica on the objectives of the G7.
08:35
The UK will announce £242 million in aid to Ukraine
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will announce new aid to Ukraine at the G7 leaders’ summit. The Interfax agency reported this. “At the summit, the Prime Minister will announce up to £242 million of bilateral assistance to Ukraine to meet urgent humanitarian, energy and stabilization needs,” read a statement on the UK government website.
08:35
Eliseo sources: “There is an agreement on the 50 billion loan to Ukraine”
“There is an agreement” on the 50 billion loan to Ukraine which will be allocated “by the end of 2024”. The methods “will be further specified by the finance ministries”. This is what Elysée sources report, explaining that now “for the loan which will be financed with the interest produced by the frozen Russian funds” the issue “is technical”. The technicians, the same sources observe, in fact, “must agree on the contract” but “it will go very quickly”.
