Baghdad-INA
The Italian presidency of the G7 announced, on Wednesday, that a video meeting of its leaders will be held next Saturday dedicated to Ukraine, during which it is supposed to decide on tightening the sanctions imposed on Russia.
This meeting, in which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will participate, is the first for the heads of state and government of the G7 member states (the United States, Japan, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Canada) under the Italian presidency.
A statement issued by the government in Rome explained that the meeting was called “on the second anniversary of the Russian aggression against Ukraine” in parallel with Kiev’s acknowledgment that its forces are facing an “extremely difficult situation” after being deprived of American ammunition and aid.
Following the meeting, which is scheduled to last an hour and a half in the afternoon, a joint statement on Ukraine will be issued, according to Italian diplomatic sources.
The same sources expected that the participants would decide to “tighten the sanctions regime” on Russia, noting that “the European Union will impose a new package of sanctions coinciding with the United States’ approval of sanctions on its part.”
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Taiani confirmed this hypothesis on Tuesday evening, and said in a statement to the official Italian channel Rai 2 that “the sanctions could be tightened,” stressing that Russia feels “the brunt of the economic sanctions.”
Ukraine announced on Tuesday dozens of Russian attacks on the eastern and southern fronts after Russian forces took control of the city of Avdiivka in the Donetsk region on Saturday, a few days before the war that began on February 22, 2022, entered its third year.
2024-02-22 02:50:43