The talks come as China’s special envoy to Ukraine touts Beijing’s ‘political solution’ to end the crisis.
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As they cope with the turmoil in Ukraine, leaders of the world’s major democracies begin their Group of Seven (G7) summit on Friday in Hiroshima with a solemn commemoration of the price of war.
Ahead of a meeting centered on ending Russia’s war in Ukraine and avoiding conflict with China, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will assemble world leaders at a peace memorial in the Japanese city devastated by an atomic bomb during WWII.
The G7 countries – the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, and Italy – are planning to use the summit to impose more sanctions against Russia and discuss strategy for a year-long confrontation that shows no signs of abating.
Moscow has stated that it is prepared to deploy its nuclear weapons to protect its “territorial integrity” if required. Kishida, a member of Japan’s lower house of parliament, said he picked Hiroshima for the meeting to draw attention to weapons control.
“You will hear a powerful statement of unity, strength, and commitment in our response to Russia’s war of aggression,” a senior Biden administration official told reporters. “You will see new steps being taken to economically isolate Russia and weaken its ability to wage war.”
According to the US official, each of the G7 nations would introduce fresh penalties as part of their efforts. According to that individual, the US is planning to add 70 entities to its export blacklist, increase its sanctions jurisdiction to 300 companies, and target new sectors of the Russian economy.
The objective is to narrow evasion loopholes in nations ranging from Europe to Asia and the Middle East, to target items used by Russia in the conflict, to limit reliance on that country’s energy exports, and to restrict Moscow’s access to the international banking system.
According to European Union sources, the leaders were also planning to take steps to better trace diamonds in order to finally cut off trade in the expensive jewels from Russia. /Reuters
BREAKING: US President Joe Biden arrives in Japan for the G7 summit in Hiroshima.
— Sky News (@SkyNews) May 18, 2023
Latest: https://t.co/PAiZ4D1jU3
📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/Ck9p6x00DC
Biden named Fumio Kishida president (he is actually the prime minister of Japan).
— Spriter (@Spriter99880) May 18, 2023
This happened during their meeting on the eve of the G7 summit in Hiroshima. pic.twitter.com/3ervzN9Lor
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