G7 summit in Italy, Biden and Zelensky sign security agreement for the United States and Ukraine

G7 leaders have reached an agreement to lend money to Ukraine, backed by profits from frozen Russian investments, a senior U.S. administration official confirmed Thursday as the G7 met in Puglia, Italy.

The official added that it was “absolutely right that we close the gap by making Russia pay, not our taxpayers, and we found a way to do it that respects the rule of law in every jurisdiction.”

The deal is the product of years of negotiations complicated by a patchwork of jurisdictional laws that required the direct involvement of President Joe Biden and national security adviser Jake Sullivan, among other top U.S. officials.

What happens next: The leaders will soon issue a joint statement on this decision.

It will be some time before Ukraine begins receiving that money, but the U.S. official said the effort would “move forward with urgency” and that the commitment remained “to be prepared to disburse $50 billion this calendar year.”

If the loan is released by the end of 2024, the money will reach Ukraine before a possible change of president in the United States. Biden will face former President Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election in November, and Trump has refused to commit to sending additional funds to Ukraine.

“The next steps are to enshrine the commitments of the communiqué with the EU-27, full membership, and then we need to draw up contracts between the lenders… the beneficiary, which is Ukraine, and the intermediaries,” the official said.

From there, an agreement will be reached on a dispersal schedule.