US to announce new sanctions against Russia at G7 summit

John Kirby, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the White House, has said that the US will announce new sanctions and export control measures against Russia during the G7 leaders' summit in southern Italy later this week.

Source: Holos Ameryky (Voice of America) with reference to Kirby at a briefing

Details: Kirby said that a range of effective new sanctions and export control measures would be introduced to target organisations and networks that help Russia wage war.

Quote: "We’re going to continue to drive up costs for the Russian war machine."

More details: It was reported that the annual summit of the leaders of the world's most economically developed democracies – the G7 – would be held in Italy from 13 to 15 June. The meeting will take place in Puglia at the Borgo Egnazia hotel.

The G7 includes the United States, Japan, Canada, Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom. The European Union takes part in all discussions and is represented by the Presidents of both the European Council and the European Commission.

The summit is scheduled to begin on Thursday with discussions on the African continent, climate change and development. Leaders will then discuss the situation in the Middle East before two sessions dedicated to Ukraine, the first of which will be attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Much attention will be paid to whether the G7 leaders will be able to agree on how to use the profits from Russian assets frozen in the West to benefit Ukraine.

The White House also expects that the G7 will send a stern warning next week to medium and small Chinese banks that are helping Russia evade Western sanctions.

Sources in Washington said that the United States was ready to announce significant new sanctions against financial institutions and non-banking organisations that were part of the "technology and goods supply channels" for the Russian defence industrial base. It is not yet known whether other G7 members are ready to follow the US hard line.

Officially, the summit will last until 15 June, but President Joe Biden leaves for Italy on the night of 13-14 June, and the only official item on his agenda on Saturday is the final press conference of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, as well as a series of bilateral meetings with leaders of allied countries.

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