Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

G7 Foreign Ministers to Begin 2-Day Meeting to Discuss Ukraine


Thu 03 Nov 2022 | 10:38 AM
Israa Farhan

On Thursday, the foreign ministers of the G7 industrialized nations are set to start a two-day meeting in Germany at which they are expected to reaffirm their commitment to supporting Ukraine as it fights to repel Russia.

During their talks in the western German city of Munster, the top G7 diplomats are also likely to exchange views on China, which is expanding its military activities in eastern and southern China, according to a Japanese government official.

The official said a joint statement is scheduled to be issued on Friday before the meeting concludes.

The G7 nations of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States, as well as the European Union, have imposed economic sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine since late February, including freezing assets held by the Russian president Vladimir Putin and the country's central bank.

Other punitive measures include a US embargo on Russian oil imports and their gradual halting by the EU and Japan. The moves have contributed to higher global oil prices, with Russia being one of the world's largest oil producers.

The gathering also comes at a time of growing concern about global food shortages as Moscow announced last week that it had suspended an agreement with Kyiv to allow Ukrainian grain exports from Black Sea ports, despite Russia's backtracking on Wednesday.

This year, G7 foreign ministers have held talks 10 times, including virtual meetings. They last met in September in New York on the sidelines of the annual session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Japan will take over the rotating presidency of the Group of Seven from Germany next year.