G-7 Leaders Agree To Boost Sanctions On Russia

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) TOKYO, May 19 (KUNA) -- Leaders of the Group of Seven (G-7) industrialized nations on Friday agreed to expand sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, while reconfirming their unwavering commitment to provide necessary diplomatic, humanitarian and military support for Ukraine.
"We reaffirmed our commitment to stand together against Russia's illegal, unjustifiable, and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine," the G-7 leaders said in a statement issued after the first day of their three-day summit in the western Japanese city of Hiroshima. The G-7 consists of Britain, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan and the US.
They also urged Russia to "stop its ongoing aggression and immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw its troops and military equipment from the entire internationally recognized territory of Ukraine," according to the statement.
"We will broaden our actions to ensure that exports of all items critical to Russia's aggression including those used by Russia on the battlefield are restricted across all our jurisdictions, including exports of industrial machinery, tools, and other technology that Russia uses to rebuild its war machine," the statement said.
They also said the G-7 members would further target those operating in these key sectors, such as manufacturing, construction, and transportation as well as business services.
In addition, the leaders vowed to reinforce their coordination to prevent and respond to third parties supplying weapons to Russia, and continue to take actions against third-country actors who materially support Russia's war, the document said.
Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who chaired the summit, said it is essential for the G-7 to unite and continue strong support for Ukraine in every aspect and severe sanctions against Russia, according to Japan's Foreign Ministry. "I would like to show strong resolution as the G-7 at the Hiroshima Summit to firmly reject Russia's aggression and restore peace in Ukraine," Kishida was quoted as saying.
In another session to discuss global economy, the G-7 leaders stressed the importance of close coordination among the member states as well as the cooperation with international partners towards transition to clean energy economy, reduction of dependency on specific countries, and the making of reliable supply chains, according to a press release from the Foreign Ministry.
At the outset of the session, Kishida said the overall main theme of the summit is to confirm the unity of the G-7 and strengthen the roles of the G-7 toward an international community characterized by cooperation, not "division and confrontation," and to demonstrate active and concrete contributions toward this aim.
Furthermore, the leaders confirmed the necessity to work toward maintaining and strengthening the free and fair trade system, including in World Trade Organization (WTO) reform, it said.
Regarding digital, they confirmed the necessity of governance for generative AI and immersive technologies based on the values of the G-7.
They further decided that they would have ministers in charge discuss generative AI as "Hiroshima AI process," and have them report the results before the end of this year. (end)
mk.hm

MENAFN19052023000071011013ID1106279085