G7 finance ministers in Banff commit to backing beleaguered Ukraine in communique tough on Moscow

Calgary Herald

22-05-2025

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He said delegates discussed other ways of increasing pressure on Russia to end its invasion but added 'it's wise to keep those to ourselves.'
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When asked about disunity among G7 delegates on the Ukraine issue and economic ones, Champagne said 'some of you questioned whether we'd come out with a communique.'
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On Tuesday, Champagne spoke to reporters alongside Kyiv's Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko, the only non-G7 ministers to attend the Banff meeting. Prime Minister Mark Carney has also invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to next month's G7 leaders' summit in Kananaskis. Champagne said that's a sign of the commitment to the country that's been trying to roll back a full-scale Russian invasion since February, 2022 and pro-Moscow separatists' 2014 seizure of parts of its eastern Donbas region.
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The G7 stance comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected committing to a ceasefire in the war in which his forces are on the attack.
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The war in Ukraine has largely settled into a stalemate on a 1,000-km front line along the country's eastern and southern regions while Kyiv's forces maintain a foothold in a slice of Russia that they invaded last summer.
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Both sides trade daily air attacks meant to erode each others' military and economic capacity and their population's will to fight.
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The Kremlin says no new direct peace talks are planned while the Ukrainians say the Russians are preparing for a summer offensive to seize more territory.
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On Thursday, Germany pledged to defend Lithuania in the event of Russian aggression and has begun deploying an armoured brigade in the Baltic state, the first one since the Second World War.
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A G7 expert said the language in the ministers' communique takes a harder line against Moscow than he'd expected, especially considering it was co-authored by a delegation from the U.S. that's recently been more sympathetic to Russia.
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'It talks about ramping up sanctions, not reducing them so it's a one-way street…it replaces' illegal' invasion with the word 'brutal' and brutal is pretty tough,' said Prof. John Kirton, director of the G7 Research Group at the University of Toronto.
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'By saying 'unwavering support' for Ukraine is actually an important shift in Trump's position – Trump's instinct to give Putin the benefit of the doubt is clearly gone.'
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Demanding war reparations from Russia among a G7 group with potential dissent from the U.S., he said, 'is a big deal'.
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The group's commitment to holding onto Russian financial assets is notable, said Kirton, although it says nothing about transferring them to Ukraine itself.
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The G7 ministers said the push for Ukraine's early reconstruction would continue at a meeting in Rome in July.
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The communique noted there are external challenges facing the reconstruction of Ukraine while it remains under fire by its larger neighbour.
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