G-7 vows to block attempts to evade Russia sanctions

Jiji Press

13:10 JST, April 21, 2022

WASHINGTON (Jiji Press) — The Group of Seven finance ministers and central bank leaders Wednesday vowed to block any attempts to evade sanctions against Russia imposed for its invasion of Ukraine.

“We strongly condemn Russia’s unprovoked and unjustifiable war of aggression against Ukraine,” the G-7 officials said in a joint statement.

The G-7 economies will “continue to work closely together and with our partners to enforce our sanctions and prevent any attempts to evade, circumvent or backfill sanctions,” the statement said.

“We are closely monitoring developments in global financial markets, including those for commodities, which have been volatile as a consequence of uncertainty created by Russia’s war against Ukraine,” the statement also said.

The G-7 officials met in Washington on the sidelines of a meeting of the Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank leaders. Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki and Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda attended both meetings.

The G-7 major powers showed solidarity, while the G-20 members, also including emerging economies such as Russia and China, were divided over how to respond to Moscow’s aggression against Ukrainian.

“Regarding the yen’s recent somewhat rapid depreciation, we shared (the recognition) that we will monitor market developments with a high sense of tension and closely communicate with each other,” Suzuki told a news conference after the G-7 meeting.

Meanwhile, Kuroda said the BOJ will keep a close watch on how the currency market developments affect the economy and prices.

Japan and the United States have started arrangements for Suzuki to meet with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday afternoon, sources said.

Suzuki and Yellen are expected to confirm their close cooperation to ensure currency market stability after the dollar hit 20-year highs above ¥129 Wednesday.