G7
G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Karuizawa, Nagano
(Overview of the “Ukraine” Session)
April 17, 2023
On April 17, commencing at 10:55 a.m., Mr. HAYASHI Yoshimasa, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, hosted the “Ukraine” session, for approximately 100 minutes. The overview of the session is as follows. (Attended by the G7 Foreign Ministers and the Deputy Secretary-General for Political Affairs, European External Action Service (EEAS) (Attending on behalf of the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy).)
- During the session, there was an open exchange of views regarding the situation in Ukraine including an assessment of the current status and future prospects. Minister Hayashi stated that amidst the protracted war, it is important to maintain unity among the G7 and other like-minded countries, to continue severe sanctions against Russia and strong support for Ukraine, and to strengthen cooperation with countries including the so-called “Global South”.
- Minister Hayashi also explained that Japan has announced related assistance for Ukraine and neighboring and other countries amounting to 7.6 billion US dollars to date. Moreover, Minister Hayashi stated that measures against evasion and circumvention of sanctions and third party weapon supply to Russia are important issues and condemned President Putin’s decision to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, which will further increase the tension of the situation.
- The G7 Foreign Ministers confirmed that they remain committed to intensifying, fully coordinating and enforcing sanctions against Russia, as well as to continuing strong support for Ukraine. They underscored that Russia must withdraw all forces and equipment from Ukraine immediately and unconditionally. Also, in addition to condemning President Putin’s announcement to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, the G7 Foreign Ministers reaffirmed that Russia’s irresponsible nuclear rhetoric is unacceptable. Furthermore, they concurred into reinforcing coordination to prevent and respond to evasion of sanctions as well as third party weapon supply to Russia.