Unwavering support forUkraine e sanctions on Moscow to help it counter the new Russian advance. From a G7 started with some internal friction between the prime minister and the current president, Giorgia Meloniand the French head of state, Emmanuel Macrondue to the absence of the latter at the summit, a shared document comes out, but enough weakwhich reiterates the full support of the seven world leaders for the cause of Kiev. A predictable position, given that the meeting, which was held via videoconference, saw the presence of the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky who welcomed Meloni, the president of the EU Commission, to his country, Ursula von der Leyenand the Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo. No announcement of new supplies, no progress on the assets confiscated from Russia, but only promises on decisions that have actually already been taken such as the sanctions on Moscow: “We leaders of the G7 met today with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to reaffirm our unwavering support for Ukraine and pay tribute once again to the courage and resilience of the Ukrainian people who fought tirelessly for the freedom and democratic future of Ukraine – reads the final declaration signed by all leaders – We remain convinced of be able to ensure that the Ukrainian people prevail in the fight for their future and help forge a global, just and lasting peace.”
Before the summit, Zelensky had returned to ask for further and timely supplies from allied countries, including the much desired ones F16 fighter which, he hopes, could shake the balance on the battlefield. For now, states have limited themselves to saying that they will continue to impose sanctions against Moscow, as demonstrated by United States e European Union in the last few days: “We will continue to increase the costs of the Russian war, to degrade Russia’s sources of revenue and hinder its efforts to build its war machine, as demonstrated by the recently approved sanctions packages – allies say – We continue to counter any attempts to evade and circumvent our sanctions. We will impose further sanctions on third-country companies and individuals who help Russia acquire weapons or key weapons inputs.” The G7, after recalling all the economic support measures adopted for Kiev, “urges the approval of additional support to fill the remaining budget gap of Ukraine for 2024″. It’s an implicit message to Congress useswhere the Republicans have frozen new support interventions for Ukraine.
One of the topics addressed in recent days is that of the reuse of funds frozen in Moscow. If their immediate reuse requires in-depth legal and political evaluations, the G7 nevertheless specifies that those assets will remain blocked until it is possible to quantify the amount of compensation that Moscow will owe to Kiev at the end of the conflict: “It is not the right of Russia decide if or when pay the damages caused in Ukraine – we read – According to World Bankthese damages exceed 486 billion of dollars. Russia’s obligations under international law to pay for the damage it is causing are clear. We are determined to dispel any false notions that time is on Russia’s side, that the destruction of infrastructure and livelihoods has no consequences for Russia, or that Russia can prevail by bankrupting Ukraine economically.”
Regarding possible future peace talks, for the moment the G7 leaders do not seem to be trying to force Zelensky’s hand, reiterating that the “just peace” that has always been hoped for is the one that will first of all be good for the Kiev establishment: “Going forward, we continue to support Ukraine in further developing President Zelensky’s peace formula,” they wrote.
A passage of the document was also reserved in memory of the Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, who died under circumstances yet to be ascertained while incarcerated in an Arctic prison. “We pay tribute to the extraordinary courage of Alexei Navalny and we stand alongside his wife, his children and his loved ones – continues the document – He sacrificed his life fighting against the corruption of the Kremlin and for free and fair elections in Russia . We call on the Russian government to fully clarify the circumstances of his death, to release all unjustly detained prisoners and to stop the persecution of the political opposition and the systematic repression of rights and freedoms. We will hold those responsible for Navalny’s death responsible, including by continuing to impose measures.”