Elmau (Germany): The Group of Seven developed economies on Tuesday wraps up a summit intended to send a strong signal of long-term commitment to Ukraine’s future, ensuring that Russia pays a higher price for its invasion while also attempting to alleviate a global hunger crisis and show unity against climate change.
The leaders of the US, Germany, France, Italy, the UK, Canada and Japan on Monday pledged to support Ukraine for as long as it takes after conferring by video link with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The summit host, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said he once again very emphatically set out the situation as Ukraine currently sees it. Zelenskyy’s address, amid a grinding Russian advance in Ukraine’s east, came hours before Ukrainian officials reported a deadly Russian missile strike on a crowded shopping mall in the central city of Kremenchuk.
Officials have said during the summit that leaders of the major economies are preparing to unveil plans to pursue a price cap on Russian oil, raise tariffs on Russian goods and impose other new sanctions.
From the secluded Schloss Elmau hotel in the Bavarian Alps, the G-7 leaders will continue straight to Madrid for a summit of NATO leaders where fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will again dominate the agenda. All G-7 members other than Japan are NATO members, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has been invited to Madrid.
Zelenskyy has openly worried that the West has become fatigued by the cost of a war that is contributing to soaring energy costs and price hikes on essential goods around the globe. The G-7 has sought to assuage those concerns.
While the group’s annual gathering has been dominated by Ukraine and by the war’s knock-on effects, such as the challenge to food supplies in parts of the world caused by the interruption of Ukrainian grain exports, Scholz has been keen to show that the G-7 also can move ahead on pre-war priorities.
The summit host has been keen to secure agreement on the creation of a climate club for countries that want to speed ahead when it comes to tackling global warming.
After a meeting Monday with leaders of five developing nations, a joint statement issued by Germany emphasized the need to accelerate a clean and just energy transition that would see an end to the burning of fossil fuels without causing a sharp rise in unemployment.
In the cautiously phrased statement, the leaders tentatively endorsed the global climate club idea. (Agency)
