Foreign ministers gathered in Liverpool implicitly target China and Russia. The Europeans accuse Moscow to prepare to invade Ukraine.
Le Monde with AFP
The Foreign Ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) found themselves on Saturday 11 December, Liverpool, in northern England, to show their unity “against the attackers who try to limit the field of the Freedom and democracy “, launched the Secretary of State for British Foreign Affairs, Liz Truss, whose country provides the presidency of G7.
“For that, we have to speak absolutely with one voice,” she added, calling for her wishes a reflection to “reduce the strategic dependence” and strengthen the “security architecture” of the great powers who are claiming democratic camp in front of “authoritarian regimes”. “We have to win the battle of technology”, “by ensuring that our technological standards are set by those who believe in freedom and democracy,” she said.
China and the Russia in the viewfinder
If it has not appointed these opponents, his remarks are in the will, including the United States, to involve the G7 in the Western Strategy to counter the ambitions on the world stage of China, of which The technology products are increasingly used in the West.
In the immediate future, it is especially another rival which is in the viewfinder: Moscow, that Washington, the Europeans and Kiev have been accusing for a few weeks of preparations to possibly invade Ukraine, which the Kremlin denies. This burning file has been at the heart of the first bilateral interviews. M Me Truss evoked the need for a “united forehead against Russian aggression” with Annalyna Baerbock, the new German Foreign Minister. The latter and the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, are “agreed that a firm response would be necessary in case of climbing of Moscow,” awarded the American diplomacy.
These remarks echoed those of the US President Joe Biden, who “said” Tuesday to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, that Russia would expose “strong sanctions, among other economic”, in case attack of Ukraine. The leaders of the diplomacy of Germany, Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom should also address other ongoing crises, particularly in Burma, with the shot Military State of 1 er February and the recent sentence to a prison sentence of the former civilian director Aung San Suu Kyi. G7 ministers should also call Iran to stop nuclear climbing and reconnect with restrictions on its atomic program.
The ASEAN invited
This is the second in-person meeting of the G7 Foreign Ministers this year, after a rally in May, London. Due to the health situation, with the recent propagation of the Omicron variant in the United Kingdom, strict measures are applied to the Liverpool Museum, which welcomes the event, with the obligation for delegates to present a PCR test result before to arrive and daily screenings.
During the weekend, G7 ministers must participate in expanded meetings to their counterparts from the European Union, South Korea and Australia.
Sunday, M me Truuss will organize plenary sessions on global health security as well as on the Indo-Pacific region. For the first time, foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will join the G7 meeting.
The US Secretary must then go to Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand for a tour to emphasize the importance of this area at the heart of the United States Anti-China Strategy.