Leaders from seven of the world’s largest economies pledged to unleash devastating sanctions packages and other measures to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Group of Seven leaders expressed their support for the Ukrainian people, building on “monthslong coordination” to hold Russian President Vladimir Putin to account, during a meeting Thursday, according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
WHITE HOUSE PINS INFLATION BLAME ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE CRISIS
“The G-7 makes up the world’s leading democracies and 50% of the world’s economy — and the costs the G-7 will impose together on Russia will be unprecedented,” Psaki said of the alliance between the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
“As a result of Putin’s choices, Russia will now face immediate and intense pressure on its economy and massive costs from its isolation from the global financial system, global trade, and cutting-edge technology,” she added. “The leaders also agreed to intensify ongoing efforts to mitigate any spillover effects from Russia’s actions and to secure stability in global energy markets.”
The 70-minute meeting, which started at 9:17 a.m. EST, was held after Biden convened his National Security Council.
French President Emmanuel Macron, whom Putin described as a “quality interlocutor” before making him sit at the other end of a long table after Macron declined to take a Russian-made COVID-19 PCR test, shared an image of the meeting.
The French are out with the first photo from this morning’s G7 meeting on Ukraine. Biden (in upper left of screen Macron is looking at) participating from Situation Room. Meeting was set to start at 9 am ET pic.twitter.com/fo28ARsh1O
— Emily Goodin (@Emilylgoodin) February 24, 2022
Macron addressed France shortly before the meeting regarding what he called a French and European “turning point.”
“In choosing war, President Putin has not only attacked Ukraine, he has decided to knock over Ukraine’s sovereignty. He has decided to carry out the worst assault on peace and stability in our Europe in decades,” Macron said, standing before French, European Union, and Ukrainian flags.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who announced this week he would not certify the Russia-Germany Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, echoed the likes of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s condemnation and promise of retaliation. Scholz had earlier been criticized for being too lenient toward Putin, but he continues to receive scrutiny for his stance against banning Russia from the SWIFT banking system.
“Russia will pay a bitter price for this aggression,” he said. “It will become clear that Putin has made a terrible mistake by unleashing this war.”
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Biden spoke to the country Thursday afternoon, the fourth time he has delivered remarks concerning the conflict in Ukraine. He rolled out his next “tranche” of sanctions after this week, unveiling measures targeting major financial institutions, Russia’s sovereign debt, and elites.
