Knock it off! G7 issues ultimatum to Russia’s war enablers

HIROSHIMA, Japan — Countries supporting the Russian military will bear “severe costs” if they do not cease that activity “immediately,” the G7 countries said in a joint statement Friday, pledging to “further prevent” circumvention of sanctions against Moscow over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The warning from the bloc of rich democracies comes as the EU is considering sanctioning Chinese companies for their role in providing Russia with dual-use goods that have ended up on the battlefields in Ukraine.

“We will starve Russia of G7 technology, industrial equipment and services that support its war machine,” the G7 countries said in the statement after high-level talks on Friday.

“We reiterate our call on third parties to immediately cease providing material support to Russia’s aggression, or face severe costs. We will reinforce our coordination to prevent and respond to third parties supplying weapons to Russia and continue to take actions against third-country actors who materially support Russia’s war,” they added.

The G7, however, failed to reach a consensus on imposing sanctions against Russian diamonds, as EU countries remain at loggerheads over how to do so based on proper technologies on tracing. Shortly before the G7 summit, the U.K. announced plans to carry out a ban on Russian diamonds.

According to the G7 statement, “we will continue to work closely together to restrict trade in and use of diamonds mined, processed or produced in Russia and engage with key partners.”

Issued shortly before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s expected arrival in Hiroshima, the statement also shed light on a future peace settlement for Ukraine.

The G7 governments said they’re willing to work with other countries so long as they agree to the need to deter Russian aggression — a high bar for countries like China, which has put forward its own peace proposal without condemning Russia as an aggressor.

“With a view to a viable postwar peace settlement, we remain ready to reach arrangements together with Ukraine as well as interested countries and institutions on sustained security and other commitments to help Ukraine defend itself, secure its free and democratic future, and deter future Russian aggression. We are determined to help Ukraine build a positive future for its people,” the countries said in the statement.