Here are four highlights from Biden’s first major summit on his last international trip: The war in Ukraine has brought Western leaders closer to condemning Russia and imposing sanctions. But as the war enters its fifth month, the economic consequences of Russia’s isolation are being felt in high gas prices, a major political responsibility. Meanwhile, the momentum in the war seems to be in Russia’s favor. Reversing these parallel trends was the main goal of this year’s G7 summit. The leaders pledged new security assistance to Ukraine, including a new missile defense system from the United States, the same model used to defend airspace in Washington, DC. Ammunition and radar systems are also expected in the last mission. But another arms shipment is unlikely to end the war. Without a clear path to victory on the battlefield, leaders are left wondering how long the battles will last – and, consequently, how much longer the economic consequences of the war will drag on the world economy. Zelensky’s remarks to the team on Monday provided at least some of his views on the issue: He wants the war to end by winter. He pressured the group to support a major military offensive to take back the initiative against Russia. “Zelensky was very focused on trying to ensure that Ukraine would be in the best possible position on the battlefield in the coming months as opposed to the coming years, because he believes that a tough conflict is not in the interests of the Ukrainian people. . US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said after the meeting.
Leaders work to ease war pain, while putting pressure on Russia
The decline of Western sanctions on Russia has dramatic consequences. On Monday, the country went bankrupt for the first time since the Bolshevik revolution more than a century ago. The White House said the bankruptcy showed the strength of Western sanctions imposed on Russia since it invaded Ukraine. At the G7 this week, leaders slapped new measures, including a ban on new Russian gold. At the same time, sanctions have hurt Americans through higher gas prices as a result of global bans on Russian energy imports. Targeting Russian energy has been a point of contention since the start of the war. And the complexity of chasing one of the world’s largest producers was confirmed in the following months. As Americans and Europeans suffer from high gas prices, Moscow continues to generate huge revenues from its oil exports – in part due to soaring prices. A plan by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen seeks to reverse it. In recent months, it has pushed the G7 to impose a price cap on Russian oil, limiting the amount of money Russia makes from the countries it still exports. Leaders agreed on the idea at this week’s summit. But the exact mechanism for doing so remains undecided. Officials said they were confident Western nations had enough leverage through their transmission and distribution networks to enforce the ceilings.
Leaders seem to remain united in responding to the war, for the time being
How and when Putin got involved has divided some of the G7 leaders, who have sometimes expressed differing views on whether it is the right time to seek a negotiated settlement or push for a decisive victory on the battlefield. . British Prime Minister Boris Johnson entered the talks this week pledging to rally leaders behind a plan to help Zelensky maintain the fight. And while French President Emmanuel Macron had previously warned that Putin would not be “humiliated”, he appeared to agree with Johnson in support of Ukraine after his meeting at the G7. Biden, meanwhile, has pledged billions of dollars in security assistance to Ukraine. His main goal seems to be to keep Western leaders in line with their goals at a time when fractures are starting to appear. “We have to stay together, because Putin has based from the beginning that somehow the G7 or NATO will somehow split, but we do not and will not,” he said when he met with German Chancellor Olaf Solz. “We can not let this aggression take its form and escape it.” As the G7 concluded, it did not appear that the leaders had reached a consensus on when to renew their efforts to negotiate with Putin. But the Russian leader was still very much in the minds of the leaders as they sat down to a working lunch on Sunday. “We have to show that we are tougher than Putin,” Johnson told the team as he sat. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trindade made a proposal: “Ride on horses barefoot,” he said, as leaders laughed.
Supreme Court overturns Rowe v. Wade approaches Biden in Europe
On his first day at the summit, Biden told reporters that the Supreme Court decision two days earlier to overthrow Roe against Wade had not been presented at the G7 summit. But for fellow leaders, it was a worrying message from the United States. EU Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen said “many voices” at the G7 summit were “very sad and very worried” by the decision. “We talked about gender equality and indeed, there were a lot of voices, very sad and very worried,” von der Layen said when asked by CNN’s Christian Amanpour about the Supreme Court ruling. Johnson, in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, described the decision as a “step backwards.” Biden has condemned the decision and vowed to explore ways to protect access to abortion. He and his aides have framed the decision as an important step backwards for women’s rights, and gender equality was one of the themes of this year’s G7, where leaders devoted an entire working meeting to the issue. However, during the usual family photos and work lunches, the gender inequality between the group – eight men and one woman – was striking. It was the first time in 16 years without a nationally elected woman on the team.
