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G7 Foreign Ministers discuss global issues including Ukraine War and Indo-Pacific

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G7

G7 foreign ministers met for an emergency meeting in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to discuss various issues including the war in Ukraine, Indo-Pacific, and China.

Ukraine War

They deplored Russia’s announcement to conduct referendums on sovereign Ukrainian regions, which are temporarily under Russian control.

A statement by the ministers said “Any referenda held under conditions of Russian military presence, intimidation, and forced deportation cannot be free or fair.” They urged the states to not recognize the results.

Nuclear safety

The G7 Foreign Ministers expressed deep concern about nuclear safety and security in Ukraine, including the shelling near the Nuclear Power Plant in South Ukraine. They emphasized that Russia must immediately withdraw its troops and military equipment from Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant which Russia seized in March this year.

They expressed their continued engagement and support for the IAEA´s efforts to ensure nuclear security and safety, including through the IAEA nuclear safety and security assistance plan for Ukraine.

Indo-Pacific

G7 Foreign Ministers also reiterated maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific which is inclusive and based on the rule of law, democratic values, territorial integrity, and transparency.

In addition, they also underscored their commitment to improve regional connectivity through quality infrastructure investments and strengthen sustainable free trade, enhance national resilience, and confront climate change and the loss of biodiversity.

They emphasized working with ASEAN and other countries to meet these objectives.

China

While maintaining their basic position of the one-China policy, they however opposed any Chinese efforts to unilaterally change the status quo in the region in regard to Taiwan.

They called for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and encouraged the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues.

In line with China’s obligations under national and international law, they urged China to fully respect human rights in view of the recent publication of the OHCHR Assessment of human rights concerns in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region which has pointed out serious human rights violations in Xinjiang.

The G7 emphasized that despite the systemic differences with China, its members will continue to pursue cooperation in fields of mutual interest, in particular in addressing climate change, biodiversity loss, or global food security issues.

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