G7 summit updates: US, Ukraine sign 10-year security pact including F-16s

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Read more how Ukraine’s more liberal use of allied weapons complicates Russian logistics.

And check out this explainer on the full agenda at the G7 summit as it continues on Friday.

We’ll be closing this live page soon. Here are the latest news lines:

• Presidents Biden and Zelenskyy sign a 10-year security deal that includes “squadrons” of fighter jets – including F-16s, according to Ukraine’s leader.
• Zelenskyy thanked Biden for the pact, but said that “the question has to be for how long the unity will last” – given upcoming US elections and the prospect of Donald Trump returning to the White House.
• G7 countries agree to a deal to provide a $50bn loan for Ukraine using interest from Russian assets frozen after Moscow’s invasion.
• Russia vows to respond to the loan with reciprocal moves that will be “extremely painful for Brussels”.
• The G7’s final communique will include language on Israel’s war on Gaza demanding no “full-scale invasion” of Rafah or an expansion against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Zelenskyy said [the US-Ukraine security pact] was the most important, strongest deal that the US had done with Ukraine since Ukraine’s independence. Of course that was at the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

And President Biden making it clear this is part of a package of different measures that the US and the G7 are doing … and the whole idea is to turn the tide of the war in Ukraine.

When G7 leaders met a year ago in Hiroshima, I think they were a lot more hopeful about where things would be now than where they actually are now.

Ukraine has not made any of those gains that they are hoping for; in fact, Ukraine has seemed a little to be on the back foot.

Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy further addressed the security pact signed with US President Biden:

“The agreement contains a very detailed, legally binding part and this means the credibility of American support for Ukrainian independence. The security commitments from the United States are based on defence support not only for the duration of this war, but also for the period of peace afterwards. And it will definitely ensure peace,” said Zelenskyy.

He added:

• The deal will “help us win this war” against Russia.
• The pact allows for Patriot missile systems and “squadrons” of fighter jets, including F-16s.
• Agreement very specific about weapons to be supplied.
• It will provide “new good jobs” in for Ukraine’s armament industry.
• The agreement outlines what is needed in terms of intelligence sharing.
• It details Russia’s post-war reparations and its attempts “to destroy Ukrainians”.

The US president says the G7 plan to provide $50bn in loans to Ukraine is “another reminder to Mr Putin – we’re not backing down”.

“In fact, we’re standing together against this illegal aggression,” said Biden, referring to Russia’s invasion of its neighbour.

Biden added that his administration is also “intensifying” its pressure on Moscow, including by warning banks earlier this week that they risk US sanctions should they do business with Russia.

“Today is a truly historic day. We’ve signed the strongest deal with the United States since Ukraine’s independence. This is an agreement on security and thus the protection of human life,” Zelenskyy told the news conference.

“This is an agreement on how our nations will become stronger and steps to guarantee sustainable peace and, therefore, it benefits everyone in the world because the Russian war against Ukraine is a real, real global threat.”

The leaders had a session on Gaza and we’re getting some lines from the final communique, which hasn’t been officially released yet. Behind the scenes, they’re agreeing on the paragraphs line by line. We think we know the language on Israel-Palestine.

They say they’re very concerned about the situation on the Lebanon-Israel border. There are some worries Israel – when it finishes its Rafah offensive – may start further military operations in the north.

They say they have an unwavering commitment to a two-state solution. Some might question that – where was it a year ago? The US, for example, was working around the Palestinians, not with them, trying to get normalisation deals with some Arab countries.

And the other thing we believe is in the final communique is a call for Israel to refrain from a full-scale offensive in Rafah. Many might say watching the appalling scenes and appalling death toll, if that’s not a full-scale offensive what is?

The G7 summit through Saturday is focusing on global conflicts, the spread of artificial intelligence and on Africa issues, particularly Italy’s longstanding concern about uncontrolled migration to Europe from the continent.

Perennial issues such as climate change and China also will be discussed. Western nations were unanimous in their concern over China’s industrial overcapacity, which they say is distorting global markets.

Eager not to appear like an elitist fortress, the G7 has thrown open its doors to a large number of outsiders this year, including Pope Francis, who is expected to give a keynote speech on Friday on the risks and potential of artificial intelligence.

Although the summit is scheduled to run until Saturday, many G7 chiefs will leave on Friday night, including President Biden, meaning the final day has been earmarked for bilateral meetings for those staying on and a closing news conference from Italy’s Prime Minister Meloni.

President Zelenskyy is set to hold a joint news conference any minute now with President Biden. He has been engaged in a flurry of diplomacy aimed at boosting international support.

He spoke earlier this week in Berlin at a reconstruction conference and is set to join more than 90 countries and organisations this weekend for a peace summit in Switzerland.

“I am grateful to our partners for their belief in us and our victory,” Zelenskyy said in a post on social media platform X before the news conference.

As we’ve been reporting throughout the day, the G7 countries have agreed to a deal to provide $50bn in loans for Ukraine using interest from Russian sovereign assets frozen after Moscow’s invasion of its neighbour.

The French president said finance ministers would now work on the details of the Ukraine funding mechanism and that individual countries would all take a share in this.

Macron also said he had agreed to set up a trilateral along with Israel and the US to discuss a plan to defuse tensions between Lebanese group Hezbollah and Israel.

Hezbollah fighters and the Israeli army have carried out daily attacks across the Israel-Lebanon border amid heightened regional tensions over the Gaza war.

Biden says the 10-year security pact between the US and Ukraine aims to “strengthen Ukraine’s defence and deterrence capabilities for the long-term”.

“A lasting peace for Ukraine must be underwritten by Ukraine’s own ability to defend itself now and to deter future aggression anytime in the future,” the US president told reporters alongside his Ukrainian counterpart Zelenskyy.

“The United States is going to ensure that Ukraine can do both,” said Biden, including by providing weapons and ammunition to Kyiv, expanding intelligence-sharing between the two countries, and training Ukrainian forces.

As we reported earlier, the deal is meant to be a step towards Ukraine’s eventually membership in NATO, according to the text of the agreement.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says the deal on Ukraine’s loan marks “a very historic step and a historic decision”.

“The next step will be just to create the technical conditions for implementation in the shortest possible time,” he said.

Scholz added G7 leaders are sending a clear message to Russian President Vladimir Putin and demonstrating their unity and determination.

“The Russian president has a very obvious plan: He wants to push ahead with his war until everyone else gives up supporting Ukraine. This plan has failed today,” the chancellor said.

“With the G7 states’ plan to mobilise $50bn, which will be financed from the windfall profits of the frozen Russian assets, the foundation has been laid for Ukraine to be able to procure everything it needs in the near future, not only in terms of weapons, but also for reconstruction or energy infrastructure.”

The agreement, signed on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy, is meant to be a step towards Ukraine’s eventual NATO membership, according to the text of the deal.

In the event of an armed attack or threat of such against Ukraine, top US and Ukrainian officials will meet within 24 hours to consult on a response and determine what additional defence needs are required for Ukraine, the agreement says.

“To ensure Ukraine’s security, both sides recognize Ukraine needs a significant military force, robust capabilities, and sustained investments in its defence industrial base that are consistent with North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO] standards,” the text says.

“The United States intends to provide long-term materiel, training and advising, sustainment, intelligence, security, defence industrial, institutional, and other support to develop Ukrainian security and defense forces that are capable of defending a sovereign, independent, democratic Ukraine and deterring future aggression.”

The US president says he discussed a Gaza ceasefire during the G7 summit and that he has not lost hope.

Asked if he was confident, however, Biden said, “No. Hamas has to move.”

Late last month, Biden announced a three-phase ceasefire proposal to end Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed more than 37,000 Palestinians since early October.

While US officials have insisted that Israel agreed to the plan, various Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have vowed to continue fighting until the elimination of Hamas.

For more on the situation in Gaza, see Al Jazeera’s live page here.

Reporting from Moscow, Yulia Shapovalova says Foreign Ministry representative Maria Zakharova just issued a response to the G7 move to use $50bn in interest from frozen Russian funds for Ukraine.

She said using those profits would be “extremely painful for Brussels”, as Russia owns enough European property and funds. “So Europe will first have to pay for all its madness out of its own wallet,” said Zakharova.

Earlier, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said actions against Russian assets in the West would receive a “reciprocal response” because in Russia essentially the same amount of Western funds have been frozen. He noted recently Russia has “income” from those assets.

Western countries are undermining trust in the global financial system in the “illegal theft” of its funds, Siluanov added. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted this move by the G7 will be challenged in court.