G7 to Putin: Your nuclear rhetoric won’t stop help for Ukraine

Admin l Saturday, October 1, 2022

 

WASHINGTON – The G7 Foreign Ministers have condemned what they described as Russia’s irresponsible nuclear rhetoric, stressing that threat will neither distract nor dissuade members from supporting Ukraine for as long as necessary.

The G7 foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union issued the statement following the decision of Russia to incorporate four former regions of Ukraine, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia into Russia.

“We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union, are united in our condemnation in the strongest possible terms of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and its continued violations of Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and Independence”, Office of Spokesman for the G7 said in a statement.

It noted that President Putin’s efforts to incorporate Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya regions into the territory of the Russian Federation constitute a new low point in Russia’s blatant flouting of international law, and yet another example of Russia’s unacceptable violations of Ukraine’s sovereignty, the UN Charter, and the commonly agreed principles and commitments of the Helsinki Final Act and the Paris Charter.

“We will never recognize these purported annexations, nor the sham “referenda” conducted at gunpoint.

“We reiterate our call for all countries to condemn unequivocally Russia’s war of aggression and its attempt to acquire territory by force. We call on the broader international community to reject Russia’s brutal expansionism, its efforts to deny Ukraine’s existence as an independent state, and its blatant violation of the international norms that guarantee international peace, security, and the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states”, the statement noted.

The G7 said it will impose further economic costs on Russia, and on individuals and entities – inside and outside of Russia – that provide political or economic support to these violations of international law.

“We are unwavering in our support for Ukraine’s right to defend itself against Russia’s war of aggression and its unquestionable right to reclaim its territory from Russia. We reiterate our condemnation of Russia’s irresponsible nuclear rhetoric. It will not distract or dissuade us from supporting Ukraine, for as long as necessary”, the group said

It noted that Russia must immediately stop its war of aggression, withdraw all of its troops and military equipment from Ukraine, and respect Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders.

“We reaffirm that the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia as well as Crimea are integral parts of Ukraine”, the G7 said.