G7 Foreign Ministers promised to strengthen the fight against sanctions evasion

The foreign ministers of the seven leading democracies (Group of Seven, G7) after a meeting on the Italian island of Capri issued a joint statementwhich states their determination to increase assistance to Ukraine.

Among other things, the document says that additional sanctions will be introduced “against companies and individuals in third countries that help Russia acquire tools and other equipment that contribute to the production of Russian weapons or the development of the military industry.”

A significant part of the document is devoted to Russian assets frozen in the West after the start of a large-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ministers confirmed they would remain frozen until the invasion was completed and Russia paid for the damage caused. It also says that G7 countries will continue to look for ways to use these assets to help Ukraine, but there is no direct mention of confiscation. It is stated that their use must comply with international law and the legislation of the relevant countries. At the same time, the foreign ministers of the G7 countries welcomed the EU’s plans to use income from these assets to help Ukraine.

The statement also said that the allies will continue to tighten control over compliance with the so-called price ceiling on Russian oil. Support was also expressed for the peace conference, which will be held in Switzerland in June – without Russia’s participation.

The foreign policy chiefs of the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan also said those involved in the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny should be brought to justice and called on Russian authorities to release political prisoners.

• Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday reiterated that Russia is ready for peace talks, but at the same time strives for victory in the war (in Moscow this is called achieving the goals of a special military operation). Lavrov stressed that even if peace negotiations begin, Russia will not stop hostilities in connection with this.
• Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba, who also took part in the meeting in Capri, statedthat the negotiations identified “concrete steps” to help Ukraine. He did not give details. It was previously reported that one of the topics of the meeting could be the transfer of new air defense systems to Ukraine; the need for this has been stated for a long time in Kyiv.