Olaf Scholz confirms G7 leaders to attend upcoming G20 summit despite Putin's presence

In a significant development, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated that the Group of Seven (G7) leaders would attend the upcoming G20 summit despite Russia's President Vladimir Putin's participation. The German Chancellor confirmed this while addressing the final press conference of the three-day G7 summit in the Bavarian Alps. "There was a great deal of agreement here that we do not want to let the G7 drift apart," Scholz remarked, as per the DPA news agency. Notably, the G20 summit is slated to be held in Indonesia in November. 

During the summit, the G7 leaders also vowed to continue assisting Ukraine and stated that they would explore the possibility of capping Russia's income from oil sales that are financing the war. In their final declaration, they also reaffirmed their intention to subject Russia to further "severe and immediate economic penalties". “We remain steadfast in our commitment to our unprecedented coordination on sanctions for as long as necessary, acting in unison at every stage,” the leaders said, the Associated Press (AP) reported. 

G7 decides to ban the import of Russian gold

The G7 leaders also decided to prohibit the import of Russian gold and to increase aid to nations suffering from food shortages as a result of the blockade on grain supplies from Ukraine through the Black Sea. German Chancellor Scholz, the host of the summit, defended the G7's decision to relax its pledge to halt public support for fossil fuel investments. According to him, time-limited support for new natural gas production projects may be required due to the conflict in Ukraine. Further, the G7 leaders also condemned the Russian missile strike on a shopping mall in Ukraine's Kremenchuk city, and termed it a "war crime".

Boycotting G20 summit would harm NATO & EU: Russian senator

Earlier on June 27, a senior Russian senator claimed that boycotting the G20 meeting over Moscow's presence would prove to be detrimental to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU). Konstantin Kosachev, Deputy Speaker of Russia's Federation Council, also asserted that the NATO-EU-led G20 boycott would fail for sure. According to reports, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called for boycotting the summit if Russian President Putin attends it.

Image: AP