G7 Leaders Pledge More Military Aid to Ukraine, Stronger Sanctions on Russia

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France — G7 leaders including U.S President Donald Trump have backed a joint declaration promising to boost military support to Ukraine and to strengthen sanctions against Russia.

"We, the Leaders of the G7, stand united in our unwavering support for Ukraine in defending its freedom, sovereignty, and territorial integrity," they said in a declaration published on Wednesday shortly after midnight.

G7 leaders "commit to increase the pressure on the Russian war economy" and to "strengthen our sanctions, including those on the oil and gas sectors," they said.

The declaration name-checks Trump, saying that with the U.S. and Iran having reached an agreement to end hostilities, it is now easier to take more economic measures against Russia.

"We consider this the right moment to proceed with additional measures, as President Trump has delivered a deal that we support in reopening the Strait of Hormuz," the declaration reads.

The leaders, who are meeting in Evian-les-Bains for a three-day G7 summit, also committed themselves to "increase the delivery of air defence capacities, additional systems and interceptors, and long-range capabilities" to Ukraine and "to consider extending to Ukraine the benefit of licenses to allow for an increase in Ukraine’s military production."

The declaration comes at the end of a day which marked by an unexpected convergence between Trump and other G7 members. On Tuesday, Trump also hinted that he was ready to reinstate sanctions on Russian oil, which Washington previously suspended until mid-June.

"This G7 is a moment of strategic wake-up call," French President Emmanuel Macron said in a video posted after the leaders' dinner gala, in which he stressed these decisions were backed by all G7 members, including the U.S.

Finding alternatives to Hormuz

The document also welcomed the U.S.-Iran agreement and backs an international mission, led by the U.K. and France, to protect ships and facilitate trade in the Strait of Hormuz.

Leaders also called for an alternative energy supply route and mentioned "the potential for Canada to deliver significant additional capacity to global markets in coming years."

The declaration also covers China, opposing "any unilateral attempts to change the status quo, in particular by force or coercion, in the East and South China Seas and across the Taiwan

Strait."

The G7 didn't issue a joint statement on geopolitical topics. Last week, Macron's office said that geopolitical discussions on Ukraine and the Middle East would be covered by a presidency statement rather than an overarching joint communiqué.

The leaders meeting in Evian have also agreed on thematic policy declarations on global partnerships, on fighting cancer, on coordinating response Ebola, on the fight against drug trafficking and on tackling migrant smuggling. On Wednesday they are also expected to agree on declarations on critical minerals and the protection of children online.