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Foreign ministers among themselves: Annalena Baerbock with her colleagues from Great Britain (Elizabeth Truss, left) and Canada (Melanie Joly, right)
Photo: Thomas Koehler / imago images / photothek
According to Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, the G7 are calling for a return to the negotiating table in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Despite the tense situation, everything must be done to resume the dialogue, said Baerbock on Saturday at the meeting of the G7 foreign ministers in Liverpool.
The corresponding forums such as the so-called Normandy format between Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany exist, said Baerbock and emphasized: "The invitation has been on the table for weeks, months." Another channel for discussion is NATO-Russia -Advice.
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Briton Liz Truss and Annalena Baerbock
Photo: PHIL NOBLE / AFP
The aim must be to de-escalate the Russian-Ukrainian border.
The G7 states are also agreed that "there can be no border shift in Europe," said Baerbock.
"It is a clear common position of all G7 states that exceeding this limit would have enormous political and economic consequences."
Great Britain and the US remained concerned about Russian military movements in the border area with Ukraine. In a conversation before the G7 meeting, British Foreign Minister Liz Truss and her US counterpart Antony Blinken agreed on their support for Ukraine, said a British Foreign Office spokesman. Any invasion by Russia would be a strategic mistake.
The US sent a senior diplomat to talks in Kiev and Moscow.
The US State Department's European Commissioner, Karen Donfried, will be in Ukraine and Russia from Monday to Wednesday, the State Department said on Saturday.
Talks with high-ranking government representatives from both countries are planned.
Donfried wanted to affirm the US commitment to "the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine".
Germany presents program for the G7 presidency
After the talks in the Liverpool Museum, Foreign Minister Baerbock emphasized that the G7 acted as a group "that does not work against someone, but stands up for something."
With regard to China, there is unanimous agreement that the country is "a partner in all the global issues that concern us around the world, but also competitors and system rivals."
The G7 wanted to achieve cooperation with China under fair conditions and with respect for human rights.
With a view to the faltering nuclear negotiations with Iran in Vienna, Baerbock said that in view of the behavior of the government in Tehran, the level had fallen back to six months ago.
This is a heavy burden on the talks, trust has been massively lost.
Nevertheless, a diplomatic solution is being worked on at full speed.
At the turn of the year, Germany will take over from Great Britain as chairman of the G7, which includes France and the USA, Italy, Japan and Canada.
According to Baerbock, the group also presented the priorities for the foreign policy part of the German G7 presidency.
The first point she mentioned was the link between the climate crisis and security policy.
Climate change is a strong driver of conflicts around the world.
In addition, Germany wants to strengthen forward-looking multilateralism so that international action does not only take place when crises are already there.
She cited the corona pandemic as an example.
During the G7 presidency, Germany also wants to work to make democracies more resilient, for example against cyber attacks or other attacks.
feb / dpa / Reuters