Response to Russia’s war in Ukraine dominates G7 summit | G7

Western leaders ended the three-day G7 summit in Germany promising to increase the economic and political costs to Vladimir Putin and his regime of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Olaf Scholz (German chancellor, chair of the G7) made the vow during a closing press conference. said the group were united and unbreakable, adding: “It is important to stand together for this over the long distance, which will certainly be necessary.”

With the summit taking place at the same time as an attack on a kindergarten in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and a missile strike on a shopping centre in Kremenchuk that killed at least 18 people, the leaders will hope the summit demonstrated the resolve, unity and practicality required to weaken the Russian president’s war machine. Scholz said the rest of the world was watching Putin’s brutal assault on the civilian population of Ukraine.

However, the summit was marred by disagreements about how to reduce the flow cash into the Kremlin due to western consumption of Russian energy. Germany is concerned that a price cap on oil and gas could lead to a complete stoppage of Russian energy supplies, as well as a European industrial meltdown. The plan is supported by many others, including the Americans.

The G7 said it would “take immediate action to secure energy supply and reduce price surges driven by extraordinary market conditions, including by exploring additional measures such as price caps”.

The language allows for further work on US ideas for an international oil price cap and an Italian proposal for a global gas price cap. Russia has warned that it will retaliate if the west manipulates energy prices below the market level.

The G7 leaders saidThey were moved to tears by the video chat with Volodymyr Zeleskiy, the Ukrainian president. In it, he asked for the group’s help to end the war in winter. This was in response to the attrition faced by Ukrainian soldiers and the belief that heavier weaponry could help regain the ground that is being lost in Donbas. One leader of the G7 said: “Zelenskiy showed courage and realism about what lies ahead.”

Boris Johnson, who was adamant that Russia would annex more Ukrainian territory if the status quo is maintained, arrived at the summit slightly more optimistic. He said that those who had been calling to settle the conflict early have been silenced and that the battle ahead has been accepted.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron – sometimes seen as the man most committed to a future long-term relationship with Russia – saidThe G7 would support Ukraine as long as it was necessary. He was unrestrained in his criticisms of Russian attacks on civilians, stating that the strike at the Kremenchuk shopping center was a war crime and Russia must not win this war.

The final communique said: “We will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes, providing the needed financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support in its courageous defence of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

It also stressed that the G7 has pledged and given $29.5bn (£24.1bn) in budget aid this year.

The most significant practical aid was probably the confirmation that the US will provide a high-tech surface-to air missile defense system.

At a summit normally dominated by the topics of the climate crisis, food security, global debt and pandemics, it was striking how little of the top-line discussion focused on these issues, even if the 28-page communique did address Scholz’s personal project of forming a “climate club” by the end of the year dedicated to achieving climate neutrality by 2050.

The other stated climate goals were “a highly decarbonised road sector by 2030, a fully or predominantly decarbonised power sector by 2035, and prioritising concrete and timely steps towards the goal of accelerating the phase-out of domestic unabated coal power”.

Japan has some flexibility regarding the date it will reach emission-free vehicles, and the wording also allows for foreign investment in fossil fuels.

On food security, the G7 offered an additional $4.5bn (£3.7bn) – way short of the UN World Food Programme target.

Max Lawson is the Oxfam head of inequality policy. said the funding was a fraction of the necessary minimum of $28.5bn (£23.3bn) extra: “Faced with the worst hunger crisis in a generation, the G7 have simply failed to take the action that is needed. Many millions will suffer from starvation and hunger as a consequence.

“Instead of doing what is needed, the G7 are leaving millions to starve and cooking the planet.”