'We're not backing down': Biden, Zelensky hail $50 billion G7 loan for Ukraine

Well, for more, we can speak to our chief foreign editor, Rob Parsons. Hello to you, Rob. We're going to focus on this $50 billion loan. Biden says it'll help rebuild devastated ports, power plants and buy weapons, boat. What makes it controversial? Well, you know, the beginning of this summit, Zelensky said that important decisions are going to be made about Ukraine at this summit. And he was absolutely right. This is a very important decision, 50 billion to be given to Ukraine to be paid. And this is the, the critical thing to be paid from the profits made on frozen Russian assets in the West, primarily in the European Union in, in Belgium, we're talking about assets worth 325 billion U.S. dollars. So a loan will be taken on the international markets and the profits accrued from from the, the, the, the, the Russian assets will be used to pay it off. According to Janet Yellen, Yellen, the US Treasury Secretary, there's nothing illegal about this because, you know, the what what comes from the profits is it doesn't belong to Russia. Russia sees things completely differently. You won't be surprised to hear. And a promising an extremely painful response. But there's no doubt from a Ukrainian perspective that this is an enormous triumph. And there is evidently a certain poetic justice about it that Russia should be forced to pay for the damage, the destruction, the deaths that it is caused in, in Ukraine. In addition to that, Ukraine has got other things. We just saw that report. Now that's a security agreement with with the United States, the 16th such agreement that Ukraine has struck with other with its Western partners. And in addition to that, a promise from Joe Biden that the Patriot weapon systems that Ukraine has been demanding will be coming. He promised another five over the the next few months. Ukraine says it wants another seven. But that will go a long way to securing the the safety of of Russia, the Ukraine's airspace which has been so badly threatened by Russia over the last couple of years. Yeah, the GG 7 being hosted in Italy this year. Let's talk about Georgia Maloney, the Prime Minister. So often when we talk about Italy, we say sick man of Europe, but it seems like it's perhaps a Oasis of stability now. Yeah, it certainly looks like that at the moment. I mean, it's just a bit of a turn around as well. If you bear in mind that not very long ago, before Georgia Maloney and her Brothers of Italy party were elected into office, that there was real fear of what that would mean in the European Union. This is a party that has its roots in, in fascism and there was a concern that there would be a, a, a real move to the right in Italy. And that might be the, the prompt for something similar elsewhere in Europe. By and large, we haven't really seen that from Italy so far, particularly in foreign policy. In foreign policy, Georgia Maloney has been very supportive of Ukraine and was the one who announced this $50 billion deal on, on Ukraine at the summit. But there's more to it than that. I mean just the just the visuals from the from the opening of the summit, George Maloney dressed in that salmon pink trouser suit, surrounded by 6 men in sombre suits, looking rather sombre, it has to be said, and with good reason if you look at what's been happening to them over the last couple of weeks or so. Electoral defeat for Manuel Macron's Renaissance party in the European elections, he got what, 15% of the vote? Schultz, the German Chancellor, his party, the Social Democrats, got 15% of the vote. Rishi Sunak is facing an election in the UK where he's expected to be heavily defeated. And I could go on and on and on. The only one who's looking good in all this at the moment is Georgia Maloney and her brother's Bitly party. She got 29% of the vote. So she is enjoying the moment, no question about it. And some of those who are there, you know, including Ursula von der Leyen, looking for support from George Maloney in the European Union. She's in a strong position at the moment, and she's looking to what's going to happen next as well. Elections in France just around the corner now. Is Marine Le Pen going to come out on top there? Is that a possible ally or a possible political foe? Not clear at this stage. Yeah, tables have turned. And a lot, a lot remains to be seen played out over the next couple of weeks, which, of course, is a political lifetime. Rob, thank you very much. Rob Parsons, our chief foreign editor.