Starting this Thursday, the foreign ministers of the G7 countries of economically strong democracies will discuss the global consequences of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine.
A focus of the talks in Munster will be support for Ukraine after the Russian attacks on the country’s energy supply ahead of the upcoming winter. At the same time, the G7, chaired by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens), want to look for ways to achieve greater independence from China and Russia.
The meeting takes place in the historic town hall of Münster – a place with symbolic power. More than 370 years ago, the Peace of Westphalia was negotiated there, which is considered a milestone on the way to a European peace order. At demonstrations, the police expect thousands of activists. However, she has no indication of any specific dangers.
For Baerbock, the G7 meeting follows a trip to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. In the former Soviet republics, too, she had looked for opportunities to work together to achieve greater independence from China and Russia. It was initially unclear whether further sanctions against Russia would be decided in Münster. The G7 group also includes France, Italy, Japan, Canada, the US and the UK. Germany will hold the presidency until the end of the year. An overview of the most important topics:
Russia/Ukraine
At the beginning of the G7 meeting (3:30 p.m.), the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is to be connected behind closed doors in the Peace Hall of the historic town hall. After that, the G7 should again discuss among themselves how to coordinate the winter aid for Ukraine and how to finance it. Germany has already delivered generators to generate electricity. The most recent nuclear threats by Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin will probably also be discussed.
geopolitical changes
Later, the G7 wanted to talk about fighting high inflation, rising energy prices and collapsed supply chains. In this context, Baerbock had invited the Deputy Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Gita Gopinath, to a kind of briefing. In October, the IMF warned of the risk of a global recession in view of the high inflation, the consequences of the corona pandemic and the Russian war of aggression.
China: At a dinner in the “armoury” of the city hall, the ministers want to discuss future dealings with China. China’s President Xi Jinping had just been strengthened in power at a congress of the Communist Party. In view of Chinese threats to Taiwan, there should also be talks about strengthening partnerships with the countries in the Indo-Pacific region.
Iran
The US demand that the country be thrown out of the UN Commission on Women’s Rights is likely to play a role in the discussions planned for Friday about the brutal suppression of system-critical mass protests in Iran. US Vice President Kamala Harris had announced that she wanted to work closely with the partners.
Africa
Baerbock has also invited the foreign ministers of Ghana and Kenya and a representative of the regional organization African Union to the consultations on Friday. Ghana and Kenya are currently non-permanent members of the UN Security Council. Among other things, the conflicts in Africa and strategic issues such as global warming, food and energy security and the consequences of the corona pandemic will be discussed.
Two more international meetings will take place in Münster on Thursday before the G7 format consultations begin. First, the foreign and defense ministers of Germany and Japan want to discuss future security strategies behind closed doors.
Afterwards, Baerbock wants to take part in an event of the “German-American Future Forum” together with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (1 p.m.). The forum was launched in July 2021 by US President Joe Biden and then Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU). The motto of the conference is “Strengthening open and free societies. The future of democracy in a digital world”.
