It was Joe Biden who set the tone for the summit: “We have to stay united, because Putin expected from the beginning that the G7 or NATO would split one way or another. But it didn’t happen and it won’t happen”he hammered Sunday before his head-to-head with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

The agenda of the G7, which is being held until Tuesday at Elmau Castle, is not lacking in hot topics, but “it is above all a question of sending a message: unity against Moscow” et “solidarity against Putin”, analyse The evening.

A message that is all the more burning since the Russian president is increasing his provocations: on Sunday morning, a few hours before the opening of the G7, Russian missiles hit a residential complex near kyiv, killing one person and injuring several, including a young girl from 7 years.

This attack, “the first targeting the Ukrainian capital for three weeks, also damaged a kindergarten”while a “another round of missiles hit Cherkasy, a town southeast of kyiv, which had never been attacked before”reports Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty (RFE-RL). The bombings were described as “barbarians” by Joe Biden.

End of Russian gold imports

Beyond the calls for unity, the leaders of the G7 hope to agree in the coming days on new sanctions aimed at weakening the Russian economy and preventing Putin from financing the war effort. The first was announced by the American president even before the start of the summit: the ban on imports of Russian gold.

“Russia is a major gold-producing country, whose exports represented nearly 15 billion euros in 2021, or 5% of the world market”Explain Radio-Canada. “Ninety percent of these exports are directed to G7 countries, and the overwhelming majority to the UK”. The British government has insisted that the measure would “a huge impact on Putin’s ability to raise funds”specifies the Canadian media.

Categorized in: