The richest countries in the world sought this Saturday (11) to present a united front against an eventual Russian aggression against Ukraine. Great Britain organizes this weekend a meeting of chancellors in the city of Liverpool, in the north of England.
The G7 meeting, attended by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his counterparts from France, Italy, Germany, Japan and Canada, comes amid international concern that Russia could invade Ukraine. Russia denies having planned any attack.
Before formal discussions, British Foreign Minister Liz Truss met with Blinken on Friday night (10), when she expressed concern about the increase in Russian troops on the border with Ukraine, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from Great Britain in a statement.
Any incursion by Russia “would be a strategic error, with serious consequences,” added the chancellor.
“We need to defend ourselves against the growing threats of hostile agents and we need to unite strongly to face the aggressors who seek to limit the limits of freedom and democracy”, Truss told the chancellors at the beginning of the meeting.
“To do this, we need to have a stronger and more united voice”
Ukraine is at the center of a crisis in East-West relations as it accuses Russia of mustering tens of thousands of soldiers in preparation for a possible full-scale military offensive.
Russia accuses Ukraine and the United States of destabilizing behavior, and says it needs security guarantees for its own protection.
Ministers arrived at the Liverpool Museum with a musical band playing Christmas carols, before convening the first formal session of the meeting that will address geopolitical issues, including nuclear talks with Iran and the country’s increasing military potential.
“This weekend’s G7 meeting… is about a show of unity among like-minded big economies, that we will be absolutely strong in our stance against aggression, against aggression towards Ukraine,” Truss told reporters . before the negotiations.
Britain, as the current chairman of the G7, is calling on its members to be more strident in their defense of what it calls the “free world”.
Earlier this week, Truss said the “age of introspection” for the West was over, and said the region needed to wake up to the dangers of rival ideologies.
She highlighted the economic risks of Europe’s dependence on Russian gas and the broader security threat posed by Chinese technology as examples.
The G7 meeting is also expected to result in a joint call for Iran to moderate its nuclear program and seize the opportunity of ongoing talks in Vienna to reactivate a multilateral agreement on its nuclear development.
Both Truss and Blinken emphasized the need for Iran to be involved in the negotiations, according to the Foreign Ministry statement.
Germany, which takes over the rotating leadership of Britain’s G7 next year, is expected to set its 2022 program at the meeting.
Ministers from the European Union, Australia, South Korea and India will attend some sessions as G7 guests, alongside representatives of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
(Translated text. Read the original here.)
Reference: CNN Brasil
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