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Rising costs — driven in part by the Russian invasion of Ukraine — will be central to Sunday’s agenda, where leaders will simultaneously work to sustain their pressure on Moscow while also looking for ways to ease price spikes that have cost them each politically.
That could prove a challenging task. Bans on Russian energy have contributed to a spike in global oil prices, yet leaders are loathe to ease up on sanctions they believe are having an effect on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s economy. One area they have announced action: Banning new imports of Russian gold.
“Here at this meeting of the G7, as well as at NATO, we will continue to do, collectively, everything we can to make sure that the Ukrainians have what they need in their hands to repel the Russian aggression,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an exclusive interview with CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.
Blinken pointed to the import ban on Russian gold, existing sanctions on Russian oil revenues and international businesses leaving Russia as evidence of the sanctions’ impact. He also cited the fact of the NATO meeting itself — which begins later this week in Madrid — as a testament to Putin failing in his goals.
“When it comes to Putin’s strategic objectives, he’s already failed,” Blinken told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “We’re about to go to a NATO summit, where the alliance is going to show greater unity, greater strength than in my memory.”
The ruling put into sharp relief the divisions roiling American politics and institutions, which have acted as a worrying subtext for leaders observing Biden’s attempts at restoring American leadership.
Here are several things to watch at this week’s G7 summit:
Finding balance
Biden and fellow G7 leaders were set to discuss ways to…
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Source : cnn
