By Sakura Murakami
TOKYO (Reuters) – G7 foreign ministers plan to hold online talks with their Ukrainian counterpart during meetings in Tokyo this week, Japan said on Tuesday, adding that the group was committed to supporting Kyiv as other conflicts spiral.
The Group of Seven (G7) wealthy nations – Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States – as well as the European Union meet in Tokyo on Nov. 7-8 to discuss issues including Russia’s war in Ukraine and the Israel-Gaza crisis that threatens to spill into regional conflict.
Announcing that Ukraine’s Dmytro Kuleba would virtually meet with the G7, Japan’s foreign minister Yoko Kamikawa Tuesday there would be no change in the group’s commitment to “strict sanctions against Russia and strong support for Ukraine … even as the situation in the Middle East intensifies.”
G7 countries recognise that Russia is settling into its war in Ukraine for the longer term and this requires enduring military and economic support for Kyiv, a senior U.S. official said after the bloc’s foreign ministers met in September.
The group has been at the forefront of sanctions on Russia since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022. In the latest move, the group is weighing up proposals to impose sanctions on Russian diamonds.
The G7 have also called on China to press Russia to stop its aggression in Ukraine.
(Reporting by Sakura Murakami; Writing by John Geddie; Editing by Tom Hogue)
