The Russian war of aggression dominated the ongoing G7 summit in Bavaria. Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the meeting’s host, promised Ukraine more support and predicted a long period of strained relations with Russia.
Berlin, June 28th, 2022 (The Berlin Spectator) — At Elmau Palace, Olaf Scholz said there was no going back to the status the relations to Russia had had before Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine. Moscow had broken all agreements on the cooperation of states in the world, the Chancellor stated. This would shape the relations for a long time.
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Ukraine’s Defense
The second summit day was all about Ukraine. The country’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke to its participants Olaf Scholz, U.S. President Joe Biden, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, his Italian and British colleagues Mario Draghi and Boris Johnson, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel via a video connection.
Scholz promised Zelenskyy more help. “We, all of us, will continue to support Ukraine in its defense against Russia”, the German head of government said. The G7 states intended to provide financial, humanitarian, diplomatic and military help and would lend their support to Ukraine as long as necessary, a mutual statement said. According to Scholz, the pressure on Putin will be increased. “The war must end”, he twittered during the summit.
Security Guarantees
The U.S. government was going to announce new sanctions against Moscow today, and against international companies that ignore the existing sanctions. President Biden and the other G7 summit participants intend to hit the Russian technology sector and weapons industry too.
President Zelenskyy reportedly welcomed the tighter sanctions against the Russian aggressors, but also demanded security guarantees for Ukraine, the delivery of anti-missile systems and other weapons. The G7 states promised him support for the reconstruction of his country. An international reconstruction plan was announced. Ukraine is supposed to receive 29.5 billion U.S. Dollars (28 billion Euro) for this year.
Climate Protection
Climate protection was another subject that was discussed at the summit. The heads of government of Argentina, India, Indonesia, South Africa and Senegal took part in those talks. Olaf Scholz had invited them for this purpose. Mutual efforts in the fight against climate change were approved. The path to climate neutrality is supposed to be sped up.
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