SCHOOL ELMAU, GERMANY –
Leaders of the Group of Seven considered a possible cap on the price of Russian gas exports on Monday as a way to push funding for Vladimir Putin’s war with Ukraine.
Rising oil prices have boosted Russia’s revenue boom as it continues its attack on the neighboring country, undermining sanctions imposed by Western countries – including those presented by leaders at the G-7 summit in Schloss Elmau, a resort in Southern Germany.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky held a two-hour meeting with G7 leaders earlier in the day. In a virtual statement, he set out what his country needs, including tougher sanctions, to prevent Putin from funding the war.
The leaders promised in a statement to support Ukraine “as much as necessary.” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced new sanctions against another 74 individuals and companies in Russia and Belarus on Monday, expected to arrive on Tuesday.
Canadian government officials, who briefed the media on condition that they would not be identified, said the Russian oil price cap could work to reduce the country’s profits from a major source of revenue. They also acknowledged that details are still in the works.
Some market analysts doubt how effective it would be to limit the price of Russian oil, as implementation by the G7 is likely to depend on cooperation from India and China.
“It is doubtful whether countries like India and China will agree to stop buying Russian oil, especially since it is trading at a significant discount to the world market,” Carsten Fritsch, a commodities analyst at Commerzbank, told the Associated Press.
The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi was invited to the G7 summit by the host, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
By early June, the country with 1.4 billion people had bought nearly 60 million barrels of Russian oil this year, compared to 12 million barrels throughout 2021, according to Kpler, a commodity data company.
In a photo shoot with the G7 and other leaders, Modi enthusiastically shook Trudeau’s hand as he approached. But later, in a one-on-one meeting, the tone was much darker.
The two will discuss the impact of the Russian war on Ukraine, democracy and human rights, Trudeau said as he sat down with Modi.
Leaders of the G7, which also includes the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Japan, are expected to announce their final consensus at the end of Tuesday’s summit.
They will then join others in Madrid for a NATO meeting to discuss the military implications of the conflict.
The conflict in Ukraine was a leading topic during Trudeau’s meetings with world leaders in Germany, as well as last week at the meeting of the heads of government of the British Community in Rwanda.
“Canada is adamant in its belief that Ukrainians deserve to live in peace,” Trudeau said in a written statement announcing the new sanctions on Monday.
“Vladimir Putin and his regime have caused indescribable pain and suffering in Ukraine and around the world. Together with our G7 counterparts, Canada is stepping up our continued and coordinated pressure to end the election of Vladimir Putin.”
The new sanctions include six individuals and 46 legal entities linked to Russia’s defense sector, 15 Ukrainians supporting the Russian occupation of the country, and 13 people linked to the government and defense, and two organizations in Belarus.
The Canadian government also plans to impose sanctions on state-sponsored disinformation and propaganda agents controlled by senior government officials, Trudeau said, in a bid to counter the Kremlin’s disinformation.
Canada will also ban the export of modern technologies that would improve the capacity of Russia’s domestic defense industry.
Trudeau also announced that Canada, along with the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan, would ban imports of some gold goods from Russia, excluding the product from official international markets.
Russia was ready to default on its foreign debt on Sunday for the first time since the 1917 Bolshevik revolution, further alienating the country from the global financial system.
Russia calls any default artificial because it has the money to pay its debts, but says sanctions have frozen its foreign exchange reserves.
During a meeting with G7 leaders, Zelensky said he wanted to see an end to the war by winter and deny Russia’s victory, Canadian officials told a briefing, but the Ukrainian president did not specify what he hoped it would look like or what a truce can be reconciled.
He also called on leaders to start planning for the possible rebuilding of communities and infrastructure in Ukraine that have been destroyed by Russian bombing and fighting.
Russia announced its own set of new sanctions against Canada on Monday, targeting 43 Canadians, including former Prime Minister’s adviser Gary Butts, former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney and conservative strategist Jenny Byrne.
Before the meeting, Trudeau and Scholz talked during a walk from the mansion building, or palace in German, down to one of the meadows, nestled between the building and the mountain view.
“We are cautious about helping Ukraine as much as possible, but we are also avoiding a major conflict between Russia and NATO,” Scholz told the media during a photo shoot with Trudeau.
The previous night in the capital of Ukraine Kyiv weeks of general calm were shattered by Russian missile strikes. The rockets hit a kindergarten and a residential building, killing one man and injuring a woman and a child, the mayor said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on June 27, 2022.
– With files from the Associated Press
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