The United States and Britain warned Russia on Saturday of the “serious consequences” that its forces’ eventual attack on Ukraine would entail, at the start of a G7 foreign ministers meeting.
The head of British and American diplomacy, Liz Truss, and America, Antony Blinken, met before the start peak held this weekend in Liverpool (northern England) and they agreed to support Ukraine and their “deep concern” about the accumulation of Russian troops along the border with the country.
“They both said that any attack by Russia would be a strategic mistake that would have serious consequences,” a British Foreign Office spokesman said in a statement.
Truss and Blinken also agreed on the importance of ‘defending and promoting freedom and democracy’, as well as the need for the G7 to show a united front in this regard.
The two discussed nuclear negotiations with Iran in the same way that they have continued in Vienna, stressing the need for Asian nations to be “significantly engaged” in trying to reach a deal.
Bilateral cooperation in aspects such as technology or security, as well as the ‘Rebuild the world better’ initiative to finance infrastructure in post-pandemic developing countries, are other issues that Truss and Blinken are addressing.
Next, host UK met with the new German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, whom she congratulated on her appointment and welcomed the G7 meeting.
Both agreed on the importance of the group of the seven most developed countries (UK, France, Germany, Italy, the United States, Japan and Canada, plus the European Union) to jointly face the Ukraine crisis.
They also stressed that democratic countries must rise up against “autocratic regimes that threaten the free world.”
Truss and Baerbock also tackled issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol, which the UK wants to amend, and agreed on a ‘shared ambition of a pragmatic solution’ that satisfies the Northern Irish people.
The UK is providing symbolic assistance to Baerbock from the G7 presidency, which will correspond to Germany throughout 2022.
