G7 Sends Blunt Message to China About Aiding Russia

Foreign ministers warn that urgent action is needed to avoid food, energy shortage
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted May 14, 2022 4:00 PM CDT
Updated May 14, 2022 4:05 PM CDT
G7 Sends Blunt Message to China About Aiding Russia
Melanie Joly, left, foreign minister of Canada, and Josep Borrell, EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, talk after their bilateral meeting during the summit of foreign ministers Saturday in Germany.   (Marcus Brandt/Pool via AP)

China's refusal to join the call for a ceasefire in Ukraine brought the Communist country an unusually stern rebuke Saturday from the G7 nations, including a warning not to do anything to assist Russia with its invasion. "We call on China not to assist Russia in its war of aggression against Ukraine, not to undermine sanctions imposed on Russia for its attack against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, not to justify Russian action in Ukraine, and to desist from engaging in information manipulation, disinformation and other means to legitimize Russia's war of aggression," a statement issued after the foreign ministers' meeting in Germany says, Politico reports.

Ukraine's allies, including the US, have worried about China since just before the invasion, when leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin celebrated their close ties. China has reiterated that it will continue normal trade with Russia, despite the sanctions enacted by the western democracies. The Group of Seven also sent a stark message to China on Saturday about Taiwan, telling it to preserve the island's stability and peace; Russia's war on Ukraine has raised fears that China could similarly move on Taiwan.

The G7, which includes the US and the EU, also warned about a worldwide food and energy shortage in poor nations caused by the war in Ukraine. As many as 50 million people will endure hunger soon unless Russia releases stores of grain being held in Ukraine, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said, calling for urgent measures to address what she called a "global crisis." Africa and the Middle East will be hit particularly hard, per the AP. Canada is ready to send ships to pick up the grain and deliver it to countries that need it, the nation's foreign minister said. (More Group of Seven stories.)

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