For the first time in 17 years, the leaders of the world’s wealthiest nations met at a summit without the Russian President this week, owing to the situation in Ukraine. Meeting in Brussels instead of Sochi (Russia), the leaders of the G7 voiced their condemnation of Russia’s continued violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and called upon them to:
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recognise the results of the recent elections in Ukraine;
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withdraw its military forces on the border of Ukraine;
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stop the flow of weapons and militants across the border;
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exercise its influence among armed separatists to lay down their weapons and renounce violence;
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meet the commitments previously agreed in the Geneva Joint Statement; and
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cooperate with the Ukraine government as Ukraine implements its plans for promoting peace, unity and reform.
The G7 confirmed that they are implementing a strict policy of non-recognition with respect to Crimea/Sevastopol, in line with UN General Assembly Resolution 68/262 .
Despite US efforts, the G7 have not announced any new sanctions measures against any individuals, entities or economic sectors. Nonetheless, the leaders confirmed that they stand “ready to intensify targeted sanctions and to implement significant additional restrictive measures to impose further costs on Russia should events so require.” On the EU side, a consensus of the 28 Member States is yet to be reached, if at all (and only 3 Member States are part of the G7).
In addition, the G7 leader’s statement also denounced the recent “sham presidential election” in Syria and discussed their positions on Iran, the Central African Republic, and North Korea, amongst other sanctioned countries.
The full statement may be found here.
