G7 finance heads to discuss Ukraine war, consider new sanctions on Russia
Tokyo, Feb 21 (EFE).- Finance chiefs from the Group of Seven countries will meet on Thursday in the Indian city of Bengaluru to discuss new sanctions against Russia on the eve of the first anniversary of the Ukraine war.
Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki stated Tuesday that the G7 finance ministers and central bank heads would discuss continued support for Ukraine at the meeting in the southern Indian city.
This year, Japan holds the rotating presidency of the G7 and will chair the meeting of the finance ministers of the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States.
“We will continue to closely coordinate with G7 and the international community to enhance the effect of sanctions to achieve the ultimate goal of prompting Russia to withdraw,” Suzuki told reporters after a cabinet meeting in Tokyo.
The Japanese minister said the G7 finance leader would discuss the impact of the Russian war on the global economy, energy, and food prices.
“By contributing to discussions on these problems, we are hoping to produce significant results that will lead to stable and sustainable global growth,” Suzuki said.
The meeting will take place a day before the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
A virtual meeting of the G7 leaders is scheduled on the anniversary day in the run-up to the May 19-21 summit in Hiroshima.
Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky will also attend the virtual meeting.
The meeting on Thursday will be the second convened by Japan after a face-to-face gathering of G7 foreign ministers in Munich last weekend on the sidelines of the security conference.
The G7 foreign ministers called “on third parties to cease assistance to Russia” and condemned Moscow’s “continued aggression against civilians and critical infrastructure in Ukraine.”
“They reiterated that Russia’s irresponsible nuclear rhetoric is unacceptable and that any use of nuclear weapons would be met with severe consequences,” a joint statement said.
“They agreed to maintain and intensify sanctions on Russia and called on third parties to cease assistance to Russia.” EFE
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