G7 ministers back more aid and arms for Ukraine

The annual meeting running until Saturday brings together top diplomats from Britain, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the US and the EU to a 400-year-old castle estate in the Baltic

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky: File Picture

Reuters   |   Weissenhaus, Germany   |    14.05.22  : Foreign ministers from the G7 group of rich nations backed giving more aid and weapons to Kyiv as they met on Friday in what Germany called a “powerful sign of unity” to deepen Russia’s global isolation.

The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell announced a further 500 million euros worth of military support to Ukraine and said he was confident that an EU embargo on Russian oil could be agreed in the coming days.

Britain’s foreign minister Liz Truss announced new sanctions targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s financial network and inner circle, including his ex-wife and cousins, and also called for ramping up weapons supplies to Ukraine.

The annual meeting running until Saturday brings together top diplomats from Britain, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the US and the EU to a 400-year-old castle estate in the Baltic Sea resort of Weissenhaus.

It follows promises by G7 leaders last weekend to ban or phase out buying Russian oil.

The event, which the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Moldova attended, will also spotlight food security concerns and fears that the war in Ukraine could spill over into its smaller neighbour Moldova. It will defy Russian attempts to split the world over Ukraine, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said ahead of the meeting.