GERMANY/UKRAINE: On Thursday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that he is planning to conduct an international conference in Berlin in October to discuss the mode of infrastructural reformation in Ukraine, a country torn by war and territorial politics, after Russian president Vladimir Putin declared a “special military operation” against its neighbour on February 24.
The Chancellor also revealed that Germany will chair the Group of Seven most industrialized countries along with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to formulate a plan that will detail the process of rebuilding Ukraine from scratch, rebuilding towns and infrastructure, as per sources notified to Bloomberg.
Germany has also arranged for a special meeting on October 25 that would engage experts and representatives from the EU, G7 and other international organizations to convene in Berlin and plan a financial framework of assistance for Ukraine.
The 27-nation bloc will speak on the funds required for the reparations, which could easily surpass 500 billion euros ($517 billion) pledged previously. The participants in the conference will need to reach a settlement on raising funds.
President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, had stated that rebuilding Kyiv is the “common task of the whole democratic world” and that doing so will promote international peace. “Reconstruction of Ukraine is the biggest contribution to the support of global peace,” the Ukrainian President said as he addressed the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Lugano, southern Switzerland, virtually last month.
The EU is in the talks to draft a mechanism that would allow confiscated Russian assets to be utilized in the rehabilitation of Ukraine. Von der Leyen mentioned at a press conference that the new provision will bring justice by pressurizing Russia to bear the expenses of undoing the damage to the Ukrainian people.
Moreover, she also notified that the EU is attempting to use the assets of the Russian government and its oligarchical money to pay for the war reparations. Earlier, as part of the rehabilitation agenda, Ukraine devised a plan to build three-tier offices dedicated to restoration tasks in Washington, Brussels, London and other cities.
Also Read: UN Alert Amid Another Shelling Of a Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine.
