The countries of the group are determined to support Ukraine until the Russian aggression is repelled
The G7 countries today showed their cohesion in addressing the various crises affecting the world and in supporting Ukraine in its fight against the Russian aggressor, whom it accused of carrying out a “brutal war”, as evidenced by the bombing this Sunday of residential areas in kyiv, according to Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, host of the summit being held in the Bavarian Alps. “We will show unity,” Scholz said in a brief intervention before the media at the end of the first meeting of the heads of state and government, fundamentally dedicated to addressing the economic problems that currently affect the planet, from inflation to the interruption of chains of supplies. He added that, at the meeting of the “most industrialized democracies in the world”, all attendees have “expressed their concern about the crises that we currently must overcome.”
The head of the German government was, however, “very, very sure that we will be able to issue a very clear signal of unity and decisive action from this summit.” He added that investments in global infrastructure will be addressed in the evening session of the summit, as well as health issues such as the coronavirus pandemic, and he stressed that they would discuss security policy extensively and confidentially at night. “We must work for a security architecture in the world that guarantees peace and that is not always dangerous and risky.” Scholz reiterated that Russian President Vladimir Putin expected the West to unite in the face of the invasion of Ukraine. “It can be said that Putin did not count on it and that this continues to give him headaches,” said the host of the event. He added that this conflict was the focus of his bilateral conversation with US President Joe Biden, stressing that “Germany and the US will always act together when it comes to Ukraine’s security.”
Earlier, US President Joe Biden described the Russian missile bombardment of the Ukrainian capital, the first in three weeks, as one more portion of the “barbarism” of Russian President Vladimir Putin. His French colleague, Emmanuel Macron, was convinced that, although Ukraine is going through a “critical phase” in the war with Russia, there is a possibility of “turning the tables”. After meeting with the latter bilaterally, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned against any concession to Russia to end the military confrontation. “Any attempt to end the conflict now would only create permanent instability and lead President Putin to the position of permanently manipulating sovereign states and international markets,” Johnson said. Macron had once again been in favor of seeking negotiation with the Kremlin and reiterated that Russia should not be “humiliated” in a future peace agreement.
Meanwhile, sources at the meeting stressed that Russia is on the verge of insolvency. This Sunday is the deadline for the payment of 100 million dollars for two issues of public debt in dollars and euros that should have been paid on May 27, although their return was extended for 30 days. Since the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the extensive sanctions imposed have caused Russia to be excluded from the global financial system. Since then, and despite having multimillion-dollar foreign exchange reserves, Moscow has had problems paying its current public debt commitments, which now exceed 40 billion dollars.
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