G7 states warn Putin against attack – Biden threatens Russia with “devastating” economic consequences

Wilmington The G7 countries are urging Russia to de-escalate the Ukraine crisis and threaten with massive consequences in the event of an attack. “Any type of use of force to change borders is strictly forbidden under international law,” says the draft statement by the G7 foreign ministers in Liverpool, which Reuters was able to see on Sunday. Russia should have no doubt that military aggression against Ukraine would have massive consequences, warned the G7 states, which include the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Japan.

The British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in Liverpool: “We are considering all options.” The point is that the aggression against Ukraine must stop. She pointed out that the UK had been successful in the past even with the threat of economic sanctions.

Russia supports separatists in eastern Ukraine. In addition, Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula, which belongs to Ukraine, in 2014. Currently, the concentration of the Russian military on the border with Ukraine in the west and in the government in Kiev has raised concerns that an attack on Ukraine could be imminent. According to US intelligence, the plans could amount to an attack early next year – with up to 175,000 Russian soldiers.

The Moscow government has rejected reports of such plans. The West was gripped by a kind of Russia phobia. The expansion of the western military alliance NATO threatens Russia and runs counter to assurances made when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Russia needs security guarantees for its own protection.

The G7 states condemn Russia’s troop deployment in the border area: “We call on Russia to de-escalate and seek diplomatic channels,” the statement said. The G7 expressly support the efforts of the so-called Normandy format. Consisting of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany, this group negotiated the Minsk Agreement to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The G7 reaffirm their commitment to Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity. In addition, Ukraine has the right to determine its own future. At the same time, the G7 condemned the “aggressive rhetoric against Ukraine”.

US President Biden also spoke again to journalists

US President Joe Biden has also emphasized his warning to Russia against an invasion of Ukraine with clear words. Biden told journalists on Saturday that he had made it clear to Russian President Vladimir Putin at the recent video summit of both politicians that Russia would pay “a terrible price” in this case.

If Putin instigated an invasion, the consequences for Russia’s economy would be “devastating,” stressed Biden. The US President affirmed that deploying US soldiers fighting in Ukraine in the event of a Russian attack was “never on the table” as an option.

Both presidents had spoken about Ukraine in a video conference last week. Russian troop movements on the border with Ukraine have raised concerns in the West. Russia, on the other hand, is demanding guarantees that Ukraine will not be accepted into NATO and, for its part, has raised security concerns.

Putin wants a face-to-face meeting

Russian President Vladimir Putin, on the other hand, would like a face-to-face meeting with the US President. Putin said this to his counterpart at the video summit a few days ago, said the spokesman for the presidential office in Moscow, Dmitri Peskov, according to the RIA news agency on Sunday. But it is too early to give a date for such a meeting. However, after his consultation with Biden, Putin had no particular reason for optimism, said Peskow. The reason is persistent and very serious conceptual differences between Russia and the USA. This applies above all to the red lines drawn by Russia.

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