PARIS - The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven countries on Tuesday affirmed support for Ukraine, including winter assistance, and called for a complete ceasefire in its conflict with Russia, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said.
The G7 ministers agreed to continue assistance for Ukraine's power infrastructure and other facilities damaged by Russian ballistic missile attacks ahead of winter, Motegi told reporters after their two-day meeting in Paris from Monday.
They also confirmed their commitment to an early deescalation and stabilization of the Middle East situation, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said, amid energy supply disruptions and rising prices since the start of the U.S.-Iran conflict in February.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told his G7 counterparts that Washington sees no need to embark on major combat operations against Tehran at this time because the economic sanctions on Iran and blockade of it are "doing devastation to their economy," he told reporters.
The gathering came after the U.S. midterm elections last week, in which Democrats retook control of both chambers of Congress in a blow to Republican President Donald Trump's administration, prompting speculation that he could seek diplomatic gains by shifting U.S. policies toward Russia, China and North Korea.
At Monday's sessions, the ministers reiterated "strong opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion, including in the East China Sea, the South China Sea, and across the Taiwan Strait," according to the Japanese ministry, in an apparent reference to China's military activities.
They also discussed issues such as the safety of artificial intelligence. Motegi was quoted by his ministry as saying that importance of undersea cables, which carry about 99 percent of global data traffic, is growing as the use of AI expands.
The G7 comprises Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, as well as the European Union. Foreign ministers of Brazil, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Ukraine were invited to attend part of the meeting.
