G7 leaders reach 'political' deal on Ukraine funds: US

G7 leaders agreed Thursday at a summit in Italy on a new $50 billion loan for Ukraine using profits from frozen Russian assets, a US official said.

"We have political agreement at the highest levels for this deal," a senior Biden administration official said on condition of anonymity.

"And it is $50 billion this year that will be committed to Ukraine."

US President Joe Biden and the leaders of Italy, Britain, France, Germany, Canada and Japan on Thursday began two days of talks in Puglia, southern Italy.

Increasing support for war-torn Ukraine was top of the agenda, with President Volodymyr Zelensky joining the G7 leaders for a special session Thursday.

The EU agreed earlier this year to use the profits from the interest on Russian central bank assets frozen by Western allies after Moscow's February 2022 invasion of its neighbour to help Kyiv.

But the idea at the G7 is to use this money to provide more and faster help through a massive upfront loan.

The loan would be eventually repaid with the future profits -- although there is a risk that the funding stream dries up if the assets are unfrozen, for example in the event of a peace deal.

The official said the US was willing to provide the entire $50 billion, but said its contribution could be "significantly less" as it would be a shared initiative.

"We will not be the only lenders. This will be a loan syndicate. We're going to share the risk, because we have a shared commitment to get this done," the official said.

But he would not say how much or even if the other G7 countries would contribute.

"I'm not going to speak for other delegations, I mean, really it's for them to say if they're going to contribute to the loan," he said.

But he said the final statement agreed by the leaders in Puglia would talk about "loans plural".

"I can assure you, the United States will not be the only lender in the syndicate," the official said.