The Group of Seven richest democracies on Saturday sought to prevent Russia from invading Ukraine
Liverpool:
The Group of Seven richest democracies on Saturday sought to deter Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, presenting a united front to warn of dire consequences if any infiltration and urging Moscow to return. negotiation table.
Led by British foreign secretary Liz Truss, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the European Union and foreign ministers from France, Italy, Germany, Japan and Canada met in Liverpool, northern England.
The G7 meeting comes amid concerns in the West about China’s economic and military ambitions, the possibility that negotiations to prevent Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapons path could fail, and as Russia troops on the Ukrainian border.
A senior State Department official described the day’s talks as “tense” and said there was still a diplomatic path to de-escalating tensions with Russia.
“If they (Russia) choose not to pursue that path, there will be enormous consequences and serious costs, and the G7 is completely united in that regard,” she said. “” The expense categories we’re talking about are designed to be done very quickly. “
Speaking at the opening session of the talks, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss called on the G7 to speak with one voice.
“We need to defend ourselves against growing threats from hostile parties, and we need strong cooperation to stand up to aggressors who seek to limit the limits of freedom.” and democracy”, said at the start of the meeting.
Ukraine is at the center of a crisis in East-West relations when it accuses Russia of sending tens of thousands of troops to prepare for a possible large-scale military attack.
Russia denies planning any attacks and accuses Ukraine and the United States of destabilizing behavior, saying it needs security guarantees to protect itself.
“We need to take every action to get back to dialogue,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told reporters. Germany will take over the rotating leadership of the G7 from Britain next year.
Washington will send its top diplomat in Europe, Assistant Secretary Karen Donfried, to Ukraine and Russia on December 13-15 to meet senior government officials.
“Assistant Secretary Donfried will emphasize that we can make diplomatic progress in ending the conflict in the Donbass through the implementation of the Minsk agreements in support of the Normandy Format,” the State Department said. in a statement.
COME TOGETHER
Ministers went to the Liverpool Museum to hear a brass band play Christmas carols, before kicking off caucuses on development finance, geopolitics and security. They then left to enjoy the city’s musical heritage over dinner at an exhibition that tells the story of The Beatles.
Britain is calling for G7 members to be tougher in defending what they call the “free world”, and discussions have focused on Russia, China and Iran throughout the day. A statement on the results from the negotiations will come on Sunday.
The United States, Britain, France and Germany met late Friday to discuss the way forward on Iran, following the resumption of talks in Vienna on reviving a 2015 nuclear deal.
Sunday’s statement is expected to include a joint call for Iran to moderate its nuclear program and seize the opportunity to reinstate a multilateral agreement under which Iran limits its nuclear program in exchange for take sanctions.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from an aggregated feed.)
