G7 finance ministers to discuss sanctions on Russia

Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers are set to discuss possible fresh sanctions against Russia on Thursday, a day ahead of the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The G7 countries’ finance ministers and central bank governors gathered in Bengaluru, India, under the leadership of Japan. The G7 meeting will be followed by a larger gathering of G20 finance leaders from the major countries.

Japan’s Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said at a news conference, “Support for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia will be the main topics of discussion.” He further said, “We will continue to closely coordinate with G7 to increase the effect of sanctions.”

The G7 nations consist of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US).

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said ahead of the talks that the sanctions affected Russia’s oil revenues. He revealed that G7 leaders would discuss a fresh $16 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) package for Ukraine over four years in order to help Ukrainians impacted by the war.

Earlier, the US said that G7 nations would unveil “a big new package of sanctions” against Moscow around the February 24 anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, it is not yet clear whether possible sanctions would be discussed in a meeting in India. India has not yet condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Reportedly, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is expected to attend a meeting of G20 foreign ministers in New Delhi, the capital of India, on March 1-2. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will also be present during the meeting.

Recently, French Finance Minister Le Maire said that India can count on France to make its G20 Presidency a success, according to the Economic Times.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia was fighting for its “historical” lands in Ukraine.

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