The 48th G7 summit will take place from June 26th to 28th, 2022 in Schloss Elmau, a five-star hotel above the village of Klais in the Wetterstein mountains. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz is the host. Numerous demos are planned around the summit. Today is the last summit day. FOCUS Online reports in the Newsticker.
7.40 p.m .: The leading democratic economic powers have promised Ukraine financial aid of up to 29.5 billion US dollars (around 28 billion euros) for this year. According to a paper published on Monday by the G7 countries, the country wants to support the country in closing its financing gap and guaranteeing services of general interest for the population. It remains unclear whether it is a grant or a loan.
At a meeting of the G7 finance ministers at the end of May on the Petersberg near Bonn, a sum of 19.8 billion dollars was still in the room. This also includes money that has already been paid since the beginning of the year.
The funds are intended to help maintain basic government services in the war-torn country, such as paying pensions and the salaries of government employees. Ukraine had asked for around 5 billion euros each for three months. After the three months, further support could be necessary, it was said at the time.
6:01 p.m .: “It’s good that we have friends and allies in this world,” Scholz concludes his statement. That was short and sweet …
6 p.m.: “As the G7, we agree that this war will shape relations with Russia for a long time. There can be no going back to how it was before the war.”
5:59 p.m .: The Ukrainian President made it clear that the support will be necessary for a long time, according to Scholz. “This war is a deep, deep cut in international relations.”
5:58 p.m .: He is happy that the five partner countries were there today. “It makes collaboration easier. We spoke to each other very openly and constructively.”
5:58 p.m .: But now. Scholz is there and speaks.
5:54 p.m .: Now you are asked to go back inside. Lots of exercise.
5:50 p.m.: Dare to go outside, it’s starting any minute here.
5.46 p.m .: “Va bene, va bene”: The Italian delegation sets the tone: we can start.
5.43 p.m .: That was just a short “Let’s see what’s going on”, apparently. It’s not raining yet, but the severe weather warning is still in effect.
5:36 p.m .: Or not? Waiting again.
5.35 p.m .: It starts, the Chancellor is there. In a good mood despite the weather.
5:13 p.m .: According to the Federal Press Office, it is still unclear when exactly this will continue. The weather is thwarting the plans.
5:08 p.m .: The statement is delayed somewhat because there is a storm warning for Elmau. The TV crews have to clear their stands.
5 p.m.: Chancellor Olaf Scholz immediately commented on the deliberations on the second day of the summit. FOCUS Online reports live.
4:04 p.m .: Sausage, cheese, drinks, gingerbread heart and a few Schafkopf cards: US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson or French President Emmanuel Macron can go hiking with a classic Bavarian backpack in the future. At the G7 summit in Schloss Elmau, the state government gave away retro-chic hiking backpacks with Bavarian specialties to the participants. “Bavaria should be remembered well,” said Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) on Instagram.
A spokesman said on Monday that the backpacks will be given to an “exclusive circle” of the summit participants, i.e. the G7 heads of state and government and their partners. The meeting in the Bavarian Alps goes until Tuesday.
3:02 p.m.: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has compared support for Ukraine in the war against Russia to fighting Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. The price for freedom is worth paying, Johnson told the BBC on Monday on the sidelines of the G7 summit at Schloss Elmau.
It took democracies a long time to find an answer to tyranny and aggression in the mid-20th century, and it was very expensive. “But with the defeat of the dictators, most notably Nazi Germany, it brought many decades of stability, a world order based on a rules-based international system,” Johnson said. “It’s worth protecting, it’s worth defending, it brings long-term prosperity.”
Britain must be prepared to stand by Ukraine in the fight against Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin’s aggression, regardless of the cost, the prime minister said. “Imagine if we were to allow Putin to get away with taking over by force large parts of another country, a sovereign, independent territory,” Johnson said. “The lessons from this would be absolutely terrifying in any country of the former Soviet Union.”
2:45 p.m .: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on the G7 group to tighten sanctions against Russia and cap prices for Russian oil. “For us, it is important for the G7 countries to have a unified position on the sanctions,” Zelenskyy wrote in the Telegram online service on Monday. The punitive measures would have to be further tightened “by limiting the prices for oil that the aggressor exports”.
About a week ago it became known that the United States was negotiating a price cap for oil with friendly countries in order to limit Russia’s oil export revenues. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said it was about stepping up sanctions on Russia and driving down the price of oil. In this way, more oil could reach the international market.
Progress was made on the project at the G7 summit on Monday. The G7 group is in the “final consultations” on this topic, it said. However, the implementation of this measure is considered to be extremely difficult.
The USA and Canada had already stopped all Russian oil imports because of the war of aggression. However, they are also significantly less dependent on Russian supplies than some countries in Europe.
10:31 a.m .: According to US information, the G7 countries want to impose new sanctions on the Russian defense industry. The G7 heads of state and government have agreed on “targeted sanctions” to further restrict Russia’s access to Western technology, the White House said on Monday on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Schloss Elmau. They also agreed to pass on revenue from increased tariffs on Russian exports to Ukraine as financial aid.
New tariffs on Russian goods should be used “to help Ukraine and ensure Russia pays the price for its war,” the US government said. According to the information, there is also progress on the US plan to impose a global price cap on the purchase of Russian oil. The G7 group is in the “final consultations” on this topic.
The heads of state and government of the G7 group began their deliberations on the second day of the summit in the morning. The first item on the program was a two-hour exchange on the war in Ukraine. For this purpose, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj was connected to the summit via video link.
Zelenskyy said in a video message on Sunday evening that the G7 had sufficient opportunities to “stop Russian aggression”. In particular, he called on the G7 countries to deliver more weapons to his country more quickly.
“We need a strong air defense system” that protects against Russian missile attacks, the president said. “The partners have to move faster if they are really partners.” Delays in arms deliveries are “an invitation to Russia to strike again and again”. Zelenskyy In addition to further financial aid, he also called for increasing the pressure on Russia through new sanctions .
You can read more about the G7 summit in Elmau on the following pages.
