G7 Summit

G7 Leaders Condemn Russia, Call Nuclear Threats ‘Inadmissible’

Pool via Reuters
France’s President Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, European Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visit the Peace Memorial Park as part of the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Hiroshima on May 19.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

20:15 JST, May 19, 2023

The G7 leaders on Friday evening held a meeting to discuss their response to the crisis in Ukraine and issued a statement strongly condemning Russia.

“We condemn, in the strongest terms, Russia’s manifest violation,” the joint statement stated, demanding that Moscow immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw its troops from Ukraine.

The leaders also made clear, “We reiterate our position that threats by Russia of nuclear weapon use, let alone any use of nuclear weapons by Russia … are inadmissible.”

To close loopholes in sanctions against Russia, the G7 reiterated its call “on third parties to immediately cease providing material support to Russia’s aggression, or face severe costs,” a warning to third countries supplying weapons and other items to Russia.

Regarding the reconstruction of the war-torn country, the G7 nations renewed their commitment “to provide the financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support Ukraine requires for as long as it takes.”

As to the responsibility for damage, the statement said, “We will continue our efforts to ensure that Russia pays for the long-term reconstruction of Ukraine.”