Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers will seek to present a united front against Russian aggression toward Ukraine when they meet on December 11 in the northern English city of Liverpool.
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is hosting the meeting with her G7 counterparts as the wealthy nations face growing tensions, not only with Russia, but also China and Iran.
Truss said the meeting would be “a show of unity between like-minded major economies that we are going to absolutely be strong in our stance against aggression, against aggression with respect to Ukraine.”
Ukraine is at the center of a crisis that triggered a flurry of diplomacy this week over a buildup of tens of thousands of Russian troops near Russia’s border with Ukraine and concerns that it may be a prelude to invasion.
Truss addressed the buildup in comments to reporters on December 10, saying a military move on Ukraine would be “a strategic mistake,” and echoed U.S. President Joe Biden in saying an invasion would be met with severe consequences for Moscow.
The situation led to a crisis call between Biden and President Vladimir Putin, who denied that Russia is planning to attack Ukraine and expressed Moscow’s demand for security guarantees against NATO’s expansion to the former Soviet republic.
During the call, Biden told Putin that Moscow will face “severe economic sanctions” should Russian troops launch an attack against Ukraine. Biden also called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy about the situation and held a conference call with the leaders of nine NATO members on the alliance’s eastern flank.
Truss indicated that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to carry Russian gas to Germany would be on the agenda of the G7 foreign ministers meeting, saying she wanted to work with other countries “to make sure that free democratic nations are able to have an alternative to Russian gas supplies.”
The Liverpool meeting will be the first international gathering for Germany’s new foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock of the environmentalist Greens, who has previously opposed Nord Stream 2.
The diplomats will also discuss China’s increased military activity in the Indo-Pacific, efforts to vaccinate the world against the coronavirus, and negotiations in Vienna to try to revive the Iran nuclear deal.
Climate change, tensions in the western Balkans, Afghanistan and North Korea are also on the agenda.
The meeting of top diplomats from the United Kingdom., the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan will be the final major event in Britain’s year as G7 president. Germany will take over the rotating G7 presidency next year.
