G7 Leaders to Convene on Ukraine

Leaders of the G7 nations—Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, US— will convene in Germany today for discussion surrounding the ongoing tensions in Ukraine.

During the two-day meeting, leaders will present concrete resolutions in line with the objective of maintaining the territorial integrity of the Ukrainian government. Earlier this week, the G7 states strongly condemned the official recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk by Moscow as well as Moscow’s unilateral decision to send troops to the regions.

In an effort to de-escalate the tensions, the G7 is preparing to make yet another peaceful call to Moscow and request for the withdrawal of troops in the short-term. Moscow will likely refuse to cooperate through dialogue. The G7 in turn will agree to collaboratively act against private and state-owned Russian businesses with the aim of putting significant pressure on the Russian economy. As Russian natural gas and crude oil are likely to suffer the heaviest hits from these prospective sanctions, the Russian ruble is also expected to further depreciate in value against the US dollar. Despite the economic impact however, Moscow will likely not take a step back to capitulate to Western demands on matters concerning Ukraine in the long term.