Russia is the focus of G7
The G7 summit is currently taking place in Hiroshima, Japan, where member-state leaders are discussing future actions regarding the Russia-Ukraine war, the world economy, and denuclearization.
While the next few days are likely to reveal much of the agenda for G7, the conversation seems to have been dominated by affairs concerning the war in Ukraine. Specifically, how the Western led coalition plans to deal with Russia.
Over the last few weeks, the question of sanctions against Russia have been popping up in the news. It seems now that those concerns have reached the ears of G7 members, which include the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, and Japan.
The leaders agreed to introduce new refinements to existing sanctions against Russia, specifically ones that target Russia’s ability to generate revenue from raw material. Additionally, the G7 leaders want to limit Russia’s ability to import and export machinery, tools, and industrial technologies as a means to limit Moscow’s wartime capacity.
The problem seems to be too complex for the West. While Russia has suffered some great losses during the war, the economic sanctions have not necessarily hit Russia as hard as the West would have liked. And that is for two reasons.
First, the sanctions hit Russia early one, but Moscow quickly found new partners (such as China and Iran) to regain ground on its key industries, exports, and imports. Second, the sanctions proved easy to work around, and that is exactly what the G7 members are hoping to address.
Circumvention of the sanctions have been extremely useful for Russia. South Africa, for example, has been in the headlines lately as a nation showing a willingness to work with Moscow. Germany, as another example, was initially hesitant to send weapons to Ukraine because they didn’t wish for certain states to send German weapons into the conflict.
There have been no specific details regarding what sanctions are going to be refined, if new ones are going to be made, or what states are the intended targets of these revisions.
Regardless, the G7 members vowed to continue to support Ukraine throughout the war and into the stages of reconstruction, giving a window from now to 2024. This is good news for Ukraine, who have been raking in billions in aid, especially after Zelenskyy’s recent meetings with Italian and German leaders.
Germany, for example, committed $4 billion and new armor and air defense systems to Ukraine’s struggle.
As for G7, I would like to see those leaders discuss other issues, such as the state of Western economies and the rising threat. While the partnership with Ukraine is fine and just, it seems like our potential, assets, and focus are being diverted just a little too much towards Kyiv.
