Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) have issued a Saturday statement vowing to support Ukraine as long as it takes to defeat Russia, vowing to impose severe costs on Moscow, in line with prior Washington statements vowing to 'weaken' Russia.
This comes amid growing Western behind the scenes action to engage Putin on the diplomatic front, in response to President-elect Donald Trump preparing to enter the White House, where a top priority is to negotiate a swift end to the war in Ukraine. This coming Tuesday will mark 1,000 days since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
"Russia remains the sole obstacle to just and lasting peace," the new joint statement says. It pledges to support more measures "in support of Kyiv as the thousandth day of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine approaches."
The group major industrial countries consists of the US, France, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the UK. Currently Italy holds to the rotating presidency.
"The G7 confirms its commitment to imposing severe costs on Russia through sanctions, export controls and other effective measures. We stand united with Ukraine," the statement added.
The European Union is a ‘non-enumerated’ member of the G7. The European Commission’s chief Ursula von der Leyen issued a simultaneous statement on X saying the "G7 reiterates its unflinching support to Ukraine."
As we are nearing the 1000th day of Russia’s full-blown war, the G7 reiterates its unflinching support to Ukraine.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) November 16, 2024
We’re committed to continue imposing severe costs on Russia through sanctions, export controls & other measures.
G7 partners stand with the brave Ukrainian nation.
"G7 partners stand with the brave Ukrainian nation," von der Leyen concluded, at a moment there is widespread recognition that Russia is steadily advancing in the east, and will soon solidify control over the whole of the Donbass.
On the nuclear front, the Pentagon has issued a more measured and somewhat conciliatory statement in a report to Congress:
"The United States will abide by the central limits of the New START Treaty for the duration of the Treaty as long as it assesses that Russia continues to do so," the Pentagon said in the report on the nuclear weapons employment strategy of the United States.
The US is also committed to future arms control with its nuclear-armed competitors, but any future accords will "need to account for US deterrence requirements and other strategic threats globally," the report said.
Since Trump's election the ratcheting nuclear rhetoric and warnings from the Russian side appear to have cooled. A key rationale of Trump's team in making the case for a necessary and quick winding down of the war is that the West must avoid nuclear confrontation or a WW3 scenario with Russia at all costs.
War-weary populations across Europe and the West are also in favor of peace, all recent polling shows, and Trump has been given a clear mandate by US voters to seek a diplomatic end to the war.
President Zelensky has also admitted this past week that the war will likely end sooner under Trump. He is pressing for a "just peace" - but is unlikely to assent to anything without firm security guarantees from NATO countries. Still, Zelensky is warning allies not to appease Putin by hasty engagement on the diplomatic front. "What is needed are concrete, strong actions that will force him to peace, not persuasion and attempts at appeasement, which he sees as a sign of weakness and uses to his advantage," a statement from Zelensky's office said Friday.
