At Elmau Castle in Bavaria (southern Germany), the leaders of the G7 tackled the priorities of this summit, which is being held until June 28 in a context of multiple crises: the war in Ukraine, threats to food and energy security, the climate emergency. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will address a new message to world leaders.
With our special envoy to the G7, Daniel Vallot
Volodymyr Zelensky should demand two things from the G7 leaders: arms, ammunition and sanctions against Russia. This is the message that he hammers home every time he addresses the leaders of the planet, and it is the message that he will undoubtedly send again today on the occasion of this G7. So, will he be heard: regarding weapons there will probably be no announcements here because the G7 is a club rather oriented on economic issues even if it deals with geopolitics and relations international and above all it will be followed by the NATO summit in Madrid.
Already the gold embargo
As far as sanctions are concerned, well there are already four countries proposing an embargo on Russian gold. These are the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and Canada. And the three European countries of the G7 should follow, even if, ultimately, the decision will be taken at EU level. So much for the weapons, so much for the sanctions, but Ukraine is present at the G7 beyond these two subjects: by its consequences on the energy market and also of course for that of cereals.
Questions that worry many countries: this is the case of South Africa, Senegal, or India and Indonesia whose leaders are also expected this Monday at the G7. These African and Asian leaders will undoubtedly ask for initiatives to prevent this potentially devastating food crisis which is looming and to find a solution in order to unblock Ukrainian cereals which are blocked due to the blockade of the Black Sea.
Fight against food insecurity
Negotiations are underway under the aegis of the United Nations but they are slow to reach a conclusion; it will be discussed with Antonio Guterres the Secretary General of the UN who will also be present this Monday at the castle of Elmau. The countries of Asia and Africa will no doubt also ask for financial support to deal with this food crisis. Time is running out, because by the end of the year, according to the UN, more than 320 million people could find themselves in food insecurity. For the countries that will be on the front line facing this shortage, the G7 must act to avoid the worst.
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