G7 foreign ministers plan talks with Ukrainian counterpart this week, pledge support

G7 foreign ministers are planning to hold online talks with their Ukrainian counterpart during meetings in Tokyo later this week, Japan said on Tuesday. The G7 group of countries was committed to supporting Kyiv as other conflicts spiral across the world, it further reiterated. The Group of Seven (G7) wealthy nations - Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States - as well as the European Union will meet in Tokyo on November 7 and 8 to discuss matters including Russia’s war in Ukraine and the Israel-Gaza crisis that threatens to spill into a regional conflict. Announcing that Ukraine’s Dmytro Kuleba would virtually meet with the G7, Japan’s foreign minister Yoko Kamikawa on Tuesday said there would be no change in the group’s commitment to “strict sanctions against Russia and strong support for Ukraine … even as the situation in the Middle East intensifies.” G7 countries recognise that Russia is settling into its war in Ukraine for the longer term and this requires enduring military and economic support for Kyiv, a senior US official said after the bloc’s foreign ministers met in September. The group has been at the forefront of sanctions on Russia since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022. In the latest move, the G7 is weighing proposals to impose sanctions on Russian diamonds. The G7 have also called on China to reason with Russia to stop its aggression in Ukraine.