‘Ukraine war will be in focus at G-7 meet’
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will be high on the agenda of the G-7 meet that will be held next month at Schloss Elmau in Germany from June 26 to 28 apart from issues such as economic cooperation and a focus on green energy, German ambassador to India Walter J. Lindner said on Friday.
The ambassador also lambasted Russian President Vladimir Putin for the “mad action” of attacking Ukraine.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be attending the G-7 meet as a special invitee although India is not a member of the grouping that comprises seven of the “largest” advanced economies in the world and the European Union (EU).
Speaking at a media interaction at the Indian Women’s Press Corps in the national capital, the German envoy also said his country would bring down its oil imports from Russia to zero by August
this year and also gas imports from Russia to zero by next year.
It may be noted that earlier this month, German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz had invited PM Modi to attend the forthcoming G7 meeting as a special invitee. Germany currently holds the Presidency of the G7 grouping of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The G7 host nation can invite leaders of other nations as guests to the summit.
When asked about India not condemning the Russian action in Ukraine, the German envoy said “every country has its own interests” and added that this would not damage ties between India and the West. Terming the Russian invasion as “brutal aggression”, the German ambassador said Russia had even blockaded Ukrainian ports such as Mariupol that had resulted in five million tonnes of wheat being stuck in Ukraine that would otherwise have been exported to needy countries. “Putin is refusing to reopen the harbours. Let him reopen it,” Mr Lindner said.
Asked about the sanctions that the West had imposed on Russia, Mr Lindner said no one had wanted sanctions in the first place but that the West had no choice but to impose sanctions due to the “mad action by Putin”.
The German envoy however admitted, “He (President Putin) took us all by surprise by such a brutal attack”.
The ambassador dismissed the argument that the western security alliance Nato was ever a threat to Russia and termed Nato as a “defensive” alliance.