G7 to maintain sanctions pressure to prevent Russia from financing war against Ukraine – French minister

Finance ministers of the G7 countries have reaffirmed their support for Ukraine and agreed to maintain sanctions pressure on Russia to prevent it from generating critical revenues to finance its war effort.

According to Ukrinform, French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said this at a press conference following the meeting of G7 finance ministers and central bank governors in Paris.

"As you know, support to Ukraine has been an important part of our work over the last four years, and it still is. Support to Ukraine is a major commitment of our presidency, and I want to reaffirm our strong indefinite support," Lescure said.

He noted that it was important for participants to speak directly with the Ukrainian side, including the government, the National Bank of Ukraine, and the finance minister.

"I want to make it very clear: Russia cannot benefit from the war in the Middle East. This is not an opinion, and on this all G7 members agree," the minister said.

Read also: Official says Germany has already provided EUR 1.2B in energy sector support to Ukraine

Lescure also confirmed the commitment to maintaining sanctions pressure on Russia.

"We are supporting them. There are reform conditions. We need Ukraine to put reforms in place. They are strongly committed to that. We are strongly committed to maintaining and pursuing sanctions and pressure on Russia to prevent them from getting critical revenues and financing the war effort," he said.

He added that amid complex geopolitical developments, economic imbalances, and dependencies, multilateral cooperation remains a key instrument for the G7.

"We know our responsibility on this critical moment. In the face of geopolitical events, in the face of economic imbalances, in the face of our dependencies, multilateralism is not an ideal. It's not an option. It's the most powerful tool," Lescure said, stressing that "the law of the fittest just doesn't work."

According to him, participants concluded the meeting with a shared commitment to move toward "a more stable, more resilient and fairer global economy" and pledged to maintain momentum ahead of the G7 leaders' summit scheduled for June 15-17.