G7 finance chiefs to meet on Feb 23 to discuss measures against Russia

TOKYO: Financial leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) will meet on Feb. 23 to discuss measures against Russia that will put pressure on it to end the Ukraine war, Japan’s Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Tuesday.

Japan will chair the meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors from the G7 nations in the Indian city of Bengaluru. The meeting will come almost a year since Russia invaded Ukraine, calling it a “special military operation”.

The war has raged on despite a slew of punitive measures G7 and other countries have taken against Russia.

“Support for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia will be the main topics of discussion,” Suzuki told a news conference. “We will continue to closely coordinate with G7 and the international community to enhance the effect of sanctions to achieve the ultimate goal of prompting Russia to withdraw.”

Japan chairs G7 ministerial meetings this year in the run-up to the May 19-21 summit meeting of G7 leaders in Hiroshima. The G7 comprises Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States.

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The G7 meeting will be followed later in the week by a broader gathering of G20 financial leaders from the world’s major economies, which will be hosted in Bengaluru by India, which has the G20 presidency.

The Ukraine war and the global economy are expected to be the focus of the G20 talks.

It will discuss inflation that has been heightened by Russia’s war, energy and food prices, and support for emerging market economies facing debt problems. A failure to tackle emerging market debt could lead to a financial crisis, a senior Japanese official said earlier.

“By contributing to discussions on these problems, we are hoping to produce significant results that will lead to stable and sustainable global growth,” Suzuki said.