Top diplomats from the Group of Seven industrialised democracies presented a united front on Ukraine and Sudan on Wednesday, even as they skirted around the more contentious issues overshadowing the gathering.
Meeting in the Canadian town of Niagara-on-the-Lake – just a short hop from the US border – G7 foreign ministers held talks with their Ukrainian counterpart as Kyiv braces for what could be its most challenging winter yet.
Rolling blackouts triggered by Russian aerial attacks have underscored the fragility of Ukraine’s energy grid, and Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha made no attempt to play down the scale of the challenge.
Ukraine, he said, needed the full support of its partners to withstand a “very difficult, very tough winter”. The priority now was to “move forward to pressure Russia, to raise the price for the aggression… for [President Vladimir] Putin, to end this war”.
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Fresh pressure on Russia
Following two days of discussions, the G7 ministers issued a joint statement pledging to tighten economic pressure on Moscow and examine new measures targeting those who bankroll Russia’s war machine.
Canada, for its part, rolled out fresh sanctions aimed at individuals involved in the development and deployment of drones, while Britain earlier in the week committed additional funding to shore up Ukraine’s battered energy infrastructure.
Although the United States offered no new initiatives at the summit, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a social-media post that ministers had explored ways “to strengthen Ukraine’s defence and find an end to this bloody conflict”.
Canada’s Foreign Minister, Anita Anand, struck a similarly determined note: “We are doing whatever is necessary to support Ukraine,” she said.
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Trade tensions with US
The gathering took place against an awkward political backdrop. US President Donald Trump recently pulled the plug on trade talks with Canada after Ontario’s provincial government ran an anti-tariff advert in the United States – a move that reportedly infuriated him.
It capped a fractious spring during which Trump openly mused that Canada should simply become the 51st US state.
Anand, however, sidestepped questions about the dispute, insisting she was in Niagara-on-the-Lake solely to focus on G7 business. She added that she had not raised trade matters during her meeting with Rubio, noting that responsibility for the file lies with another minister.
One sensitive topic that barely featured – at least publicly – was the Trump administration’s expanding military campaign against alleged drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
Washington says it has carried out 19 strikes since early September, killing at least 75 people. Members of Congress have been pressing for clarity on who is being targeted and on what legal basis.
Yet Rubio insisted the issue simply did not arise in his discussions with fellow ministers. “It didn’t come up once,” he said, brushing aside reports that Britain had halted intelligence sharing.
“Nothing has changed or happened that has impeded in any way our ability to do what we’re doing,” he added. “Nor are we asking anyone to help us with what we’re doing – in any realm. And that includes military.”
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Condemnation of Sudan violence
Where the ministers did speak out forcefully was on Sudan, where violence between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces is spiralling.
In their statement, G7 countries condemned the escalation in fighting, while Rubio described the humanitarian situation as dire and urged efforts to halt the flow of weapons to the RSF.
Pressed on the widely reported role of the United Arab Emirates – allegations the UAE has repeatedly denied – Rubio was circumspect but pointed.
The United States, he said, knew exactly who was supplying the RSF. “At the highest levels of our government, that case is being made and that pressure is being applied to the relevant parties,” he said. “This needs to stop.”
Alongside the G7 members – Canada, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Japan – Anand expanded the table by inviting ministers from Australia, Brazil, India, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, South Korea, South Africa and Ukraine.
(with newswires)
