G7 to tackle Ukraine grain crisis, continue economic pressure on Russia

Group of Seven foreign ministers vowed on Saturday to reinforce Russia's economic and political isolation, continue supplying weapons to Ukraine and tackle what Germany's foreign minister described as a "wheat war" being waged by Moscow.

After meeting at a castle estate in the Baltic Sea resort of Weissenhaus, the ministers from Britain, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the United States and the European Union also pledged to continue their military and defence assistance for "as long as necessary."

They would also tackle what they called Russian misinformation aimed at blaming the West for food supply issues around the world due to economic sanctions on Moscow and urged China to not assist Moscow or justify Russia's war in Ukraine, according to a joint statement.

"Have we done enough to mitigate the consequences of this war? It is not our war. It's a war by the president of Russia, but we have global responsibility," Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told reporters at a closing news conference, following three days of talks.

Key to putting more pressure on Russia is to ban or phase out buying Russian oil with EU member states expected next week to reach an agreement on the issue even if it remains at this stage opposed by Hungary.

"We will expedite our efforts to reduce and end reliance on Russian energy supplies and as quickly as possible, building on G7 commitments to phase out or ban imports of Russian coal and oil," the statement said.

The ministers said they would add further sanctions on Russian elites, including economic actors, central government institutions and the military, which enable President Vladimir Putin "to lead his war of choice," which began Feb. 24.

The meeting in northern Germany, which the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Moldova attended, also spotlighted food security concerns and fears that the war in Ukraine could spill over into its smaller neighbour Moldova.

The G7 warned that the war in Ukraine is stoking a global food and energy crisis that threatens poor countries. They said urgent measures are needed to unblock stores of grain that Russia is preventing from leaving Ukraine.

"Russia's war of aggression has generated one of the most severe food and energy crises in recent history which now threatens those most vulnerable across the globe," the group said.

Baerbock said the G7 would work on finding logistical solutions to get vital commodities out of Ukraine storage before the next harvests.

"People will be dying in Africa and the Middle East and we are faced with an urgent question: how can people be fed around the world? People are asking themselves what will happen if we don't have the grain we need that we used to get from Russia and Ukraine," Baerbock said.

Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said there's G7 interest in the idea of seizing assets and selling them to help with the reconstruction of Ukraine.

"It is fundamental that the reconstruction of Ukraine be funded by the perpetrators of this war. There's a lot of interest on the part of G7 members. We've definitely had the conversation about this," Joly said on Saturday during a media briefing.