Tokyo, 17 April, /<a href=”https://en.ajmedia.jp/”>AJMEDIA</a>/
Foreign ministers of the Group of Seven industrialized nations continued talks for a second day in the central Japan town of Karuizawa on Monday, with Russia’s war in Ukraine expected to be among the main topics.
G-7 representatives will also exchange views on strengthening ties with developing countries in the Global South, and the situation in the Indo-Pacific amid China’s growing influence in the region, according to Japanese government officials.
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi is chairing the three-day meeting through Tuesday, hoping to deliver a strong message on the importance of maintaining the rules-based international order.
The international community is at a turning point, “we will firmly reject any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force, or Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, as well as its threat of use of nuclear weapons,” Hayashi told the gathering, part of which was open to the media.
A Japanese government source said the G-7 could ramp up pressure on Russia, which more than a year ago invaded its neighbor, by ensuring the effectiveness of economic sanctions. It could do so by closing loopholes that allow the Kremlin to access advanced technology.
Cooperation with the Global South is also seen as important to uphold the rules-based international order, with many countries, including India, taking a neutral position over the conflict in Ukraine and refraining from imposing punitive steps on Moscow.
The war and related sanctions regimes have increased concern about energy and food supplies, including among developed nations.
Russia is one of the world’s biggest grain, oil and gas exporters, and Ukraine a major wheat and corn producer.
The Taiwan situation is also to be a key topic for discussion, with tensions between Washington and Beijing simmering over the self-ruled democratic island. China views Taiwan as its own territory and has not ruled out the possibility of using force to bring the island back into its fold.