“Have we done enough to mitigate the consequences of this war? It is not our war. It is a war of the president of Russia, but we have a global responsibility,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told reporters at the closing press conference.
The key to putting more pressure on Russia is to ban or phase out the purchase of Russian oil and EU member states are expected to come to an agreement on the issue next week, even if Hungary is at this stage in opposition. .
“We will accelerate our efforts to reduce and end dependence on Russian energy supplies as quickly as possible, based on G7 commitments to eliminate or ban imports of Russian coal and oil,” the statement said.
The ministers said they would add further sanctions on Russian elites, including economic actors, central government institutions and the military, allowing President Valdimir Putin “to run a war of his own choosing.”
The meeting in northern Germany, attended by the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Moldova, also highlighted concerns over food security and fears that the conflict could spread to its smaller neighbor Moldova.
“People will die in Africa and the Middle East and we are faced with an urgent question: how can people be fed around the world? People are wondering what will happen if we don’t have the grain that we need and that we used to get from Russia and Ukraine,” Baerbock said.
He added that the G7 would work to find logistical solutions to transport vital commodities from Ukraine storage before the next harvests.
Attention now turns to Berlin when ministers meet later on Saturday with Sweden and Finland, preparing to apply for membership of the transatlantic alliance, drawing threats of retaliation from Moscow and objections from NATO member Turkey.
“It is important that we have a consensus,” Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly told reporters when asked about the possibility of Turkey blocking her accession.
