G7 Foreign ministers formed cliques to put pressure on Putin . They warned Russia in Liverpool that if Russia invaded Ukraine, it would face "huge consequences" and urged Russia to reduce its military aggregation in the border areas. Photos at the scene showed that the US Secretary of State and foreign ministers from other countries and regions of G7 Group were smiling happily. However, there are differences in focus on how to act and sanctions.
G7 The meeting mainly discussed the issue of Russia's transfer of weapons and military forces to the border areas. A communique released by it stated that the organization reiterated its "firm commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the rights of any sovereign state to decide its own future" and praised Ukraine's "restraint" when tensions intensify. The statement said, " international law strictly prohibits the use of force to change the border. Russia should have no doubt that further military aggression against Ukraine will have huge consequences and pay a heavy price."
Previously, US intelligence agency estimated that Russia may be planning an attack on Ukraine, and will send up as many as 175,000 soldiers as early as next year. Moscow denied its invasion plan and asked NATO (Nato) to provide security guarantees that NATO will not expand further eastward or deploy weapons near Russian territory.
UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said that if Russia invades Ukraine, it will consider imposing various forms of economic sanctions on Russia, and hinted that she may be ready to review the UK's anti-money laundering laws again, which some see as a way for Russian elites to hide their cash. She said the invasion would bring "serious costs" to Russia. Economic sanctions may include restricting access to global financial markets and setting new conditions for Russian government debt financing, and the cancellation of Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany is also on the agenda.
On Sunday, Germany's new foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said that under the agreement between Berlin and Washington , the pipeline will not be allowed to operate if there is a new "escalation" in the situation in Ukraine. Anna Lena Belbok told Germany's ZDF TV that "if the situation escalates further, the gas pipeline will not be put into operation," she also clarified the threats issued by the new German Prime Minister, Olaf Scholz.
Although all foreign ministers at the G7 meeting understood that they had to send the strongest signal to Putin to not invade Ukraine, there were differences in focus on the best sanctions and whether the G7 domestic law needed to be reassessed.
British Foreign Secretary Tras said the UK is considering all options and she is willing to review anti-corruption laws after being asked about being criticized as a shelter in London for thieves. "The UK does have very strict anti-corruption and money laundering laws, but we need to be clear: when the UK wants to send a clear message to achieve a clear goal, we have been preparing to use economic sanctions, so we are considering all options and with our allies, including the US and G7 partners, we have always been aware of the serious consequences." However, judging from the “all options” she mentioned, it is not clear how far Tras intends to go.
For G7 operations, Kremlin quickly counterattacked. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov (Dmitry Peskov ) told Russian media on Sunday that Russia was demonized because of mobilizing troops within its territory, and said Vladimir Putin (Vladimir Putin) told Biden (Joe Biden ) in a video call last week that the Russian army did not pose a threat to anyone.
In addition, EU foreign ministers may announce on Monday the launch of procedures for imposing sanctions on the Wagner Group, a private military contractor of Russia.Moscow denied Wagner's ties to the Russian government, but said the EU would face retaliation for any sanctions against its citizens. The action was driven by France because it was concerned about the scale of Wagner's intervention in the African Sahel region.
In addition, G7 also discussed the Iran issue. British Foreign Secretary Tras said Iran had a last chance to recomply with the 2015 nuclear deal. Foreign leaders at Liverpool exchange views on whether they believe Iran is serious about seeking a deal in Vienna negotiations or just delaying time. Currently, negotiators from Europe, Russia, China, the United States and Iran stayed in the capital of Austria over the weekend to discuss a possible text, according to which the United States will lift sanctions on Iran and prompt Iran to return to the nuclear deal.
Tras said, "This is the last chance for Iran to come to the negotiating table with a serious solution. This plan must agree to the terms of the comprehensive agreement. This is their last chance, which is crucial for them. We will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons ."
If negotiations cannot make progress at the rate required by the United States and Europe, it is likely that leaders of countries will be convened for discussion to decide whether to submit the issue of Iran's non-compliance with the 2015 agreement to the U.N. nuclear inspection agency for an emergency council, which will mark the beginning of the final breakdown of the agreement.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-