G7 meeting
Britain promotes expansion of aid to Ukraine
UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss during a press conference in Vilnius. Photo: Uncredited/AP/dpa
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Foreign Minister Baerbock has invited her colleagues from Ukraine and Moldova to the G7 consultations on the Baltic Sea. The call for Western fighter jets comes from Kyiv shortly before. Do you agree?
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss spoke out in favor of additional efforts to support Ukraine at the G7 meeting on the Baltic Sea coast.
“In order to help Ukraine, we have to go even further and faster,” she said at the deliberations of the group of leading democratic industrial nations in a luxury hotel near Weissenhauser Strand. This also means that Ukraine must be shown a clear path to procuring NATO-standard military equipment.
Ukrainian foreign ministers present
So far, the country attacked by Russia has mainly used equipment that was developed in the former Soviet Union. This also makes it difficult for the West to provide supplies of weapons and ammunition. On the fringes of talks in Berlin, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba had called for the delivery of Western fighter jets and missile defense systems to defend his country against Russia.
At the invitation of Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens), Kuleba is to take part in the G7 meeting on the Baltic Sea this Friday – as will Moldova’s Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu. Popescu is there because there are fears that Ukraine’s small neighboring republic could be the next target of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Kuleba contradicted fears – also hinted at by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) – that supplying Ukraine with ever heavier weapons could lead to an escalation of the war and ultimately a nuclear war with Russia. “I actually don’t see the possibility that a nuclear war is on the table as a possibility. Because that would be the last war, also for Russia, »he said on Thursday evening in the ZDF «Heute Journal».
Truss said of Putin’s course that he was humiliating himself on the world stage. It was now necessary to ensure that he suffered a defeat in Ukraine that would prevent any further aggression. The G7 foreign ministers want to discuss the war in Eastern Europe and issues such as the corona pandemic on the Baltic Sea until Saturday. Germany currently chairs the group, which includes Germany, the NATO states USA, Canada, France, Great Britain, Italy and Japan.
Global food insecurity in focus
The G7 ministers also want to discuss the global consequences of the war for food and energy security. At times, the Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi should also be involved. Indonesia currently chairs the Group of the 20 most important industrialized and emerging countries (G20).
Baerbock said at the start of the meeting that they were discussing how to break the grain blockade imposed by Russia and bring Ukrainian grain to the world. Currently, 25 million tons of grain are blocked in Ukrainian ports, especially in Odessa, because of the war. The grain is urgently needed in African countries and the Middle East. Ukraine is one of the most important grain suppliers worldwide. In 2021, according to figures from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, it was still the third largest exporter of barley and fifth largest exporter of wheat.
In addition to Ukraine, the G7 round wants to deal with the role of China and the situation in Africa in the face of looming food shortages and the corona pandemic and their impact on security. A dinner will be held to discuss measures to improve the resilience of democracy. It should also deal with the topics of disinformation and cyber security.