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19-04-2023
TOKYO: The foreign ministers of G7 have pledged to intensify sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine and criticized China for its actions in the Taiwan Strait and disputed South China Sea, urging Beijing “to act as a responsible member of the international community”.
The comments, issued on Tuesday, marked the conclusion of a three-day meeting in the Japanese resort town of Karuizawa.
The G7 communique also criticized North Korea over its nuclear and ballistic missile program, expressed concern over the violence in Sudan and Myanmar and called on the Taliban to reverse its ban on women working for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the United Nations.
The document was prepared as a template for global leaders to use at a G7 summit that will be held in Hiroshima, Japan next month, and also included language about Iran, nuclear proliferation and other “grave threats”.
Two crises stood out: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and China’s increasing assertiveness against, and military manoeuvres around, Taiwan, the self-governing democracy that Beijing claims as its own but it was Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that was the focus of the summit.
The group, which comprises the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Canada, said, “There can be no impunity for war crimes and other atrocities such as Russia’s attacks against civilians and critical civilian infrastructure.”
“We remain committed to intensifying sanctions against Russia, coordinating and fully enforcing them,” the ministers said, and would support “for as long as it takes” Ukraine as it defends itself.
Russia’s current offensive is largely stalled and Ukraine is preparing a counteroffensive, but there is widespread global worry about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s repeated threats to use tactical nuclear weapons.
“Russia’s irresponsible nuclear rhetoric and its threat to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus are unacceptable,” the ministers said.
They added that any use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons in Ukraine “would be met with severe consequences”. (Int’l News Desk)
