US seeks to boost Ukraine aid, push debt restructuring at India G20 meeting

Gandhinagar, India, July 16 (EFE).- The United States will seek to increase financial assistance for war-torn Ukraine and push for debt restructuring during a G20 Finance meeting in India, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday.

Yellen said Ukraine was one of the priorities at the meeting of finance ministers and central bank heads of the world’s top 20 economies.

She said she would seek “to redouble our support for Ukraine as it continues to defend itself against Russia’s illegal and unprovoked attack.”

Yellen was speaking to reporters in the western Indian city of Gandhinagar on the eve of the G20 meeting.

“Let me be clear: our coalition’s support for Ukraine is unequivocal. The United States will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” she said.

The treasury secretary said budgetary support was “critical to Ukraine’s resistance.”

“By helping keep the economy and the government running, we are giving Ukraine the support it needs so it can fight for freedom and its sovereignty.”

She threatened that the US would continue to cut Russia’s access to the military equipment and technologies that Moscow needed to wage war against Ukraine.

“One of our core goals this year is to combat Russia’s efforts to evade our sanctions. Our coalition is building on the actions we’ve taken in recent months to crack down on these efforts.”

She recalled her trip to Kyiv earlier this year that “deeply moves me to this day.”

“As I have said, ending this war is first and foremost a moral imperative. But it’s also the single best thing we can do for the global economy.”

Yellen also expressed her willingness to collaborate with China on mutual interests, including debt restructuring for emerging economies and other global challenges.

Her remarks come after a high-stakes China visit to ease tensions between the two nations. During the visit, Yellen emphasized the importance of both countries working together to address global challenges.

“As the world’s two largest economies, we have an obligation to the people in our nations and the world to cooperate on areas of mutual concern,” she said.

The US treasury secretary noted that her visit to China “served as a step forward in putting our relationship on surer footing and establishing a resilient and productive channel of communication.”

The US has been exerting significant pressure on China to join other creditor countries and financial institutions in debt restructuring for developing and crisis-hit economies like Sri Lanka and Zambia.

Yellen said she would continue to push for complete and timely participation of all bilateral official creditors on pending debt restructuring cases.

She said she looked forward to working with her counterparts to support global macroeconomic stability and growth.

The Finance Ministers of the G20 countries are also trying to move forward together in implementing a global minimum tax on international profits to ensure that multinational corporations pay appropriate rates and can compete on equal terms with small companies.

The third Meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of the G20, under the presidency of India, will be held on the 17th and 18th of this month in Gandhinagar, the capital of the western state of Gujarat, India. EFE