G7 officials make progress but no final deal on money for Ukraine from frozen Russian assets

By DAVID McHUGH
AP Business Writer

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Finance officials from the Group of Seven rich democracies say they have moved toward agreement on a U.S. proposal to squeeze more money for Ukraine from Russian assets frozen in their countries. But they left a final deal to be worked out ahead of a June summit of national leaders. The finance ministers said Saturday in a statement after meetings in Stresa, Italy, that they were “making progress” on a U.S. proposal to borrow against future interest income on the frozen assets to give Ukraine a large chunk of cash now. The last word will rest with the G7 national leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, next month at their annual summit in Fasano in southern Italy.