G7 Leaders Condemn Russian Attack On Ukraine, Sanctions Afoot

Leaders from the Group of Seven nations started a virtual meeting Thursday at which they are expected to condemn Russia's aggression in Ukraine and discuss robust sanctions against Moscow, Kyodo News reported.

Photo Insert: French President Emmanuel Macron, European Council President Charles Michel, and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during an emergency meeting on Russia.

The G7 leaders will coordinate their responses and urge Russia to prevent a further escalation of the crisis that has already jolted financial markets and posed a challenge to the post-Cold War architecture.

G7 members, including this year's president Germany, had sought to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis as Russia massed its troops near Ukraine's borders.

Russia brushed off such calls and attacked Ukraine after Putin said it would carry out a special military operation in the Donbas area, which includes the two separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk formally recognized as independent republics by Moscow earlier this week.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stressed the importance of acting in concert with the G7, which groups Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States plus the European Union (EU).

He announced a set of sanctions on Wednesday, including a ban on the issuance and distribution of new Russian sovereign bonds in Japan. "We will swiftly proceed with additional measures by working with other G-7 members and the international community according to changes in the situation," Kishida told a parliamentary session.

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