G-7 diplomats mull over how to get Russia to engage in Ukraine peace talks

NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, Canada - Group of Seven (G-7) foreign ministers on Nov 12 discussed ways to increase pressure on Russia over the war in Ukraine, amid doubts over whether Moscow is interested in negotiating an end to the conflict.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in Canada’s Niagara region for the meeting, which was also joined by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, who pushed for Kyiv’s allies to strengthen its long-range missile capability and bolster its energy sector as Ukraine enters another winter at war.

Countries attending the meeting of foreign ministers in Canada on Nov 12 were also concerned about

US military operations in the Caribbean

and whether

armed strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats

carried out by Washington violate international law.

US President Donald Trump has sought a rapprochement with Moscow and held a summit in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin in August.

But he has backed calls for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine with forces at their present positions, while Moscow has said it wants Kyiv to yield more territory.

The ministers issued a final joint statement in which they reiterated a call for an immediate ceasefire and said, “we are increasing the economic costs to Russia, and exploring measures against countries and entities that are helping finance Russia’s war efforts”.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told Reuters on the sidelines of the talks that discussion on Ukraine revolved around putting more pressure on Russia to seek peace after the US concluded that Moscow was not serious about ending the war.

“In order to make them have peace, we have to put more pressure,” Ms Kallas said.

“They (the US) have had engagements (with Russia) and we have all welcomed their engagements so that to really achieve peace. But to be very, very frank... their assessment is that Russia has no way changed its goals so it’s not genuine about the peace talks.”

Efforts to organise a summit between Russia’s leader and Mr Trump were put on ice in October, as Moscow’s rejection of an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine

cast a cloud over attempts at negotiations.

Ukraine’s Mr Sybiha, after meeting G-7 foreign ministers, praised Washington for

new energy sanctions imposed on Russian oil companies

in October. “We need to continue to increase the cost of war for Putin and his regime, forcing Russia to end the war,” he wrote on X.

Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand earlier announced additional sanctions against Moscow, targeting Russia’s drone programme, liquefied natural gas entities and vessels from Russia’s shadow fleet, among others, according to a statement. 

Boat strikes

The ministers, in their statement, said they reaffirmed a shared commitment “to strengthening partnership in securing maritime ports and routes against the trafficking of illegal drugs” but made no specific mention of the intensified US military campaign in waters off Latin America. The US military has carried out at least 19 strikes so far against suspected drug vessels in the Caribbean and off the Pacific coasts of Latin America, killing at least 76 people.

The French Foreign Minister on Nov 11 openly criticised US strikes, while a senior European official on Nov 12 said that the G-7 meeting would be “the ideal place” for the US military actions to be discussed, though it was not officially on the agenda.

“This is where we are supposed to exchange views on controversial issues – and what the US is doing in the Caribbean is concerning for everyone,” the European official said.

“We have observed with concern the military operations in the Caribbean region, because they violate international law and because France has a presence in this region through its overseas territories, where more than a million of our compatriots reside,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on the sidelines of the G-7.

The foreign ministers from the G-7 wealthy nations held a meeting on maritime security on the morning of Nov 12, but it was unclear if the boat strikes were directly addressed.

The Trump administration insists those targeted were transporting drugs, without providing evidence or publicly explaining the legal justification for the decision to attack the boats rather than stop them and arrest those on board.

The US has publicly justified its actions as consistent with Article 51 of the founding UN Charter, which requires the UN Security Council to be immediately informed of any action states take in self-defence against armed attack.

While acknowledging the US justification for the strikes, a group of independent UN experts said in October: “Even if such allegations were substantiated, the use of lethal force in international waters without proper legal basis violates the international law of the sea and amounts to extrajudicial executions.”

On Nov 11, CNN reported that the UK was no longer sharing intelligence with Washington about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it believes the attacks are illegal.

A State Department official said Mr Rubio held a brief meeting with UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper on the margins of the G-7 ministerial meeting.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro ordered Colombian public security forces to suspend intelligence sharing with US intelligence agencies until Washington stops attacking boats in the Caribbean.

The ministers also expressed strong support for Mr Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza and for the return of the remaining dead Israeli hostages held by Hamas, while expressing concern about restrictions on the flow of aid to the Palestinian enclave.

A US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took on Oct 10, but efforts to advance the second phase of Mr Trump’s plan have faltered. REUTERS