United States President Joe Biden and the Group of Seven leaders pledged their continued support for Ukraine and its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, as Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of the former Soviet ally enters its second year.
The leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union warned Putin he would face grave repercussions if he used nuclear weapons.
More Military Aid For Ukraine
During the virtual meeting, the G7's top officials reaffirmed their intention to implement further coordinated economic measures in the following days and weeks, which include restricting Russia's access to military equipment, industrial machinery, and other supplies, USA Today reported.
Moreover, the group is taking action against third-country entities assisting Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. On Friday, the White House announced sanctions on 200 Russian and third-country players in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East that assist Russia's war actions.
The leaders also condemned Putin for suspending Russia's commitment to New START, a deal that limits strategic nuclear weapons between the United States and Russia.
"We reiterate that Russia's irresponsible nuclear rhetoric is unacceptable, and any use of chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear weapons by Russia would be met with severe consequences," the G7 statement reads.
The group also reiterated that the New START agreement reached in Bali by all G20 participants, "including Russia," states that the utilization or threat of nuclear weapons is unacceptable.
Vladimir Putin recently declared that Russia would withdraw from the New START accord, the last major cornerstone of post-Cold War nuclear weapons limitation between Moscow and Washington. Vladimir Putin stressed that Russia must be ready to undertake nuclear testing if the US does, according to a previous HNGN report.
Before the conference, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the G7 would reaffirm a request that other nations did not give military help to Russia, which has taken swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine but failed to overthrow the pro-Western government.
While Russia has utilized Iranian drones in Ukraine and America has recently warned that China is mulling aiding Moscow's war operations, Prime Minister Kishida did not name any countries, per CNA. The Chinese government has refuted the US allegations and even announced its proposals to help end the Russia-Ukraine war.
The G7 announced that it would continue coordinating efforts to satisfy Ukraine's military and defense equipment demands, with an urgent priority on air defense systems, ammunition, and tanks. US President Joe Biden paid a surprise visit to Kyiv and pledged an extra $460 million in security support to the war-torn country. Still, he has refused Volodymyr Zelensky's plea for F-16 fighter fighters.
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G7 Pledged Support For Nations Impacted by Russia-Ukraine War
The G7 also expressed sympathy to nations suffering from the devastating effects of the Russia-Ukraine war, underscoring that Moscow's food weaponization has created global economic suffering and an increase in global food prices, raising people's cost of living, aggravating developing nations' economic weaknesses, and worsening "humanitarian crises and food insecurity" worldwide.
The coalition of the world's developed economies reaffirmed their commitment to providing immediate assistance, including food aid, to impacted communities and nations amid the Russia-Ukraine war. The G7 also pledged to develop restrictive measures to protect disadvantaged populations from unintended impacts by ensuring food and fertilizer supplies.
"Above all, our solidarity will never waver in standing with Ukraine, in supporting countries and people in need, and in upholding the international order based on the rule of law," the G7 noted.
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