As Ukraine war continues, can the G7 summit amp up pressure on Russia?
Global News
The G7 nations are expected to announce more sanctions against Russia and military aid for Ukraine at a three-day summit in Japan.
A high-stakes meeting of G7 leaders is set to kick off in Japan against the backdrop of the looming regional threat from China and the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Both issues will be front and centre when the Group of Seven (G7) summit gets underway in Hiroshima Friday, but there are questions about how the world’s advanced economies will set aside their own differences to tackle them.
The G7 nations – Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Japan – have all taken a strong united stand against Russia’s invasion, with more sanctions against Russia and military aid for Ukraine expected to be announced at the summit.
Those measures have so far been resisted by Moscow, so in order to change the course of the Ukraine war – now into its second year – the G7 will have to step up and take bolder action, one expert said.
“This is a meeting that is ripe with opportunities, but also invites us to go beyond rhetoric and actually change policy,” said Aurel Braun, professor of international relations and political science at the University of Toronto.
Declaratory statements and sanctions alone will not be enough, and the G7 leaders will have to boost their military support — and with greater urgency — to have the desired effect on Russia, he said. And that will mean increasing and improving their own military capabilities.
“Canada and Italy are the two big ones in the G7 that need to move to enhance their hard power so they can make the kind of contribution that is necessary,” said Braun.
Germany, which is Europe’s largest economy, faced criticism at the start of the war for what some called a hesitant response, but it has since become one of Ukraine’s biggest providers of financial and military assistance.