G7 leaders vow new set of tech, services sanctions to ‘starve Russian war machine’

The Group of Seven (G7) countries on Friday vowed to “starve Russia of G7 technology, industrial equipment and services that support its war machine”, as it announced a plethora of sanctions to punish Vladimir Putin for launching an invasion against Ukraine.

The announcement came during the historic meeting in Hiroshima city of Japan, where the leaders of G7 countries vowed to restrict Russia’s access to G7 economies. The decision was made ahead of Ukraine PresidentVolodymyr Zelensky's visit to the city.

The Group of Seven (G7) consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. Additionally, the European Union (EU) is a "non-enumerated member."

During the talks, the bloc pledged “to stand together against Russia's illegal, unjustifiable, and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine."

“We will broaden our actions to ensure that exports of all items critical to Russia’s aggression... are restricted across all our jurisdictions,” they said in a joint statement.

“We will starve Russia of G7 technology, industrial equipment and services that support its war machine,” the bloc added.

The grouping said they would step up efforts to prevent circumvention of their existing sanctions regime, “including targeting entities transporting material to the front”.

G7 Hiroshima Summit 2023: UK imposes sanctions on Russian diamonds ahead of G7 Summit

‘Russia's invasion illegal, unjustifiable, and unprovoked’

The G7 leaders termed Russia's invasion "illegal, unjustifiable, and unprovoked" and called on President Vladimir Putin to "immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw its troops and military equipment from the entire internationally recognised territory of Ukraine".

"We condemn, in the strongest terms, Russia’s manifest violation of the Charter of the United Nations (UN) and the impact of Russia’s war on the rest of the world," they said while pledging more financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support to Kyiv "for as long as it takes."

"We express our full sympathy and condolences to the Ukrainian people for their loss and suffering.We salute the Ukrainian people for their brave resistance. Our support for Ukraine will not waver. We will not tire in our commitment to mitigate the impact of Russia’s illegal actions on the rest of the world."

Fresh sanctions by US, UK

According to local media reports, the US at the G7 summit announced new set of sanctions on Friday in a bid to tighten screws on Moscow.

"All G7 members are preparing to implement new sanctions and export controls," a US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters in Hiroshima, according to AFP.

He, however, did not disclose what were the G7 members planning but said that taken together with a substantial US package, they will "make it” even harder for Russia to sustain its war machine".

The US measures will aim to "extensively restrict Russia's access to goods that matter for its battlefield capabilities", the official said.

Britain has banned Russian diamonds in a new wave of sanctions to pressure Russia that will also prohibit imports of Russian-origin copper, aluminium and nickel.

(With inputs from agencies)

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