The G7 countries, which Secretary of State Antony Blinken called “a steering committee for the world’s most advanced democracies,” recently concluded their meeting in Capri.
Secretary Blinken said the foreign ministers emerged “more unified than ever” on the critical challenges before the international community, including the conflict in the Middle East, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, and the maintenance of a free and open Indo-Pacific:
“First the G7 condemned the unprecedented Iranian attack on Israel, unprecedented in scope and scale. … We’re committed to Israel’s security. We’re also committed to de-escalating, to trying to bring this tension to a close.”
To hold the Iranian regime to account for its destabilizing actions, the United States announced additional sanctions targeting Iran’s missile and drone capabilities, and the G7 countries will adopt additional sanctions as well.
The foreign ministers were also “intensely focused” on Gaza, in support of an immediate ceasefire with the release of hostages. Hamas, however, rejected “generous proposals from Israel,” Secretary Blinken said, and “seems more interested in a regional conflict than…in a ceasefire that would immediately improve the lives of the Palestinian people.”
“It continues to move the goalposts, and the world needs to know and needs to understand, again, that the only thing standing between a ceasefire and the Gazan people is Hamas.”
Regarding Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, the G7 was “very clear” in its unwavering support for Ukraine, said Secretary Blinken. “Putin thinks that he can outwait Ukraine and outwait Ukraine’s supporters:”
“The message coming out of Capri is: He can’t. Every G7 member’s making extraordinary contributions to Ukraine’s defense.”
Another key focus of the meeting was the goal of a free and open Indo-Pacific.
“The G7 is united on the need for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea, the Korean Peninsula, and also [is] united in standing up to China’s unfair and non-market practices, especially when it comes to overcapacity that is flooding the markets of our own countries with new products and technologies that are heavily subsidized and so underpriced, driving our own businesses out of the market and seeking to dominate these markets themselves.”
Secretary of State Blinken emphasized that the most striking thing about the G7, “was the extraordinary convergence in our approaches to these challenges, convergence between the United States, Europe, and partners in Asia.”
Unity at the G7 Meeting
- Policy Office
Secretary Blinken said the G7 foreign ministers emerged “more unified than ever” on the critical challenges before the international community, including the conflict in the Middle East, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, and the maintenance of a free and open Indo-Pacific.
