Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney released a statement from the presidency of the G7 summit.
In the statement, he said that the G7 leaders “expressed support for President Trump’s efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine” and “recognised that Ukraine has committed to an unconditional ceasefire and agreed that Russia must do the same”.
He said G7 leaders were “determined to consider all options to maximise pressure” on Russia, including financial sanctions.
Journalists asked the Canadian prime minister about the absence of a separate joint statement on Ukraine at the G7 summit after reports of disagreements with the US over language on Russia.
He said Canada would have been willing to go further in its official language on Ukraine than what was ultimately on paper.
“There would have been things that some of us, including Canada, would have said beyond what was said in the chairman’s summary,” said Carney, quoted by CBC News.Carney said, “But recognising the importance of President Trump’s initiative to achieve a lasting peace is absolutely consistent with the fact that we are determined to use all options to maximise pressure on Russia, including financial sanctions.”
The G7 countries have not issued a joint statement on Ukraine despite the presence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a high-level meeting in Kananaskis where he called for a peace deal.
Earlier, a senior government source told the publication that this was because the US did not agree on the final wording. According to him, the six leaders were prepared to go far in their wording but the Americans wanted to soften it.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Americans did not want some harsh remarks about Russia to be included in the joint statement because they feared it would jeopardise negotiations with that country to end the war.
However, Carney’s office later denied the claim that the US wanted to soften the statement on Russia’s war against Ukraine.
According to Bloomberg news agency, citing people familiar with the matter, the G7 leaders’ discussion over dinner on Monday did not prompt US President Donald Trump to tighten sanctions against Russia.
He further frustrated allies at the summit by saying sanctions cost the U.S. big money and repeated many of those objections over dinner, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Donald Trump has repeatedly urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire in the war against Ukraine and has threatened new sanctions against Russia, but has yet to do so.