G7 foreign ministers agree to step up sanctions pressure on Russia

The foreign ministers of the G7 member countries have agreed to maintain and strengthen sanctions against Russia, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said following talks at the Munich Security Conference. About it writes “RIA News”.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry said that the focus of the discussion was the situation in Ukraine. “[Стороны] agreed to maintain and strengthen sanctions against Russia, as well as to call on third countries to stop supporting Russia,” the statement said.

Also, the G7 member countries called Russia’s “nuclear rhetoric” “unacceptable”, since the use of nuclear weapons could lead to “serious consequences.”

“The G-7 Foreign Ministers agreed to strengthen agreements to maintain a world order based on the rule of law, and also welcomed Ukraine’s commitment to a just and lasting peace and came to a common opinion on continuing active cooperation with Ukraine for this,” the Japanese Foreign Ministry noted.

The G7 countries have been imposing sanctions on Russia since the start of the special operation in Ukraine in February 2022. In particular, the restrictions affected energy carriers of Russian origin – oil, oil products and gas – in the form of a price ceiling, the military-industrial complex, banking, financial sectors, etc.

February 16 US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland statedthat the United States and the G7 countries plan to impose a new package of sanctions on Russia on February 24th. According to her, the sanctions will also apply to those areas that are already under restrictions. In particular, they will affect the military-industrial complex and the supply of high-tech equipment.

Despite the sanctions, the actual performance of the Russian economy in 2022 turned out to be better than most predictions. According to President Vladimir Putin, Russia’s GDP fell by 2.1% from January to November 2022. According to preliminary data for 2022, the figure fell by 2.5%, he added. Putin recalled how domestic and foreign experts predicted a fall in GDP by “10, and 15, and even 20%”.