By Alexander Zhang
The Group of Seven (G-7) major industrialized countries have sent a “powerful signal” that any Russian invasion of Ukraine would have “massive consequences” and would incur “a severe cost,” UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said on Sunday.
After a two-day G-7 foreign ministers’ summit held in the English city of Liverpool, Truss told a press conference that the G-7 allies have “sent a very clear united message to Russian President Vladimir Putin.”
She said: “We’ve sent a powerful signal to our adversaries and our allies. We’ve been clear that any incursion by Russia into Ukraine would have massive consequences for which there would be a severe cost.”
Truss also said the UK is considering “all options” including economic sanctions in response to potential Russian aggression.
“When the UK has wanted to send clear messages and achieve clear goals, we have been prepared to use economic sanctions. So we are considering all options,” she told reporters.
The warning comes amid rising tensions over a Russian troop buildup on the Ukrainian border, which is seen as a sign of a potential invasion.
Ukrainian officials have estimated that more than 90,000 Russian troops are massing near the border in Russian-occupied Crimea, and have said they believe an attack is imminent. They have asked the United States and other countries for help defending the country’s borders.
Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union before becoming an independent country in 1991.
Western countries view Ukraine as a bulwark against Russia, which harbours ambitions for more territorial control. Russia seized Crimea in 2014, when former U.S. President Barack Obama was in office.
Truss also said the G-7 is concerned about China’s “coercive economic policies” across the globe.
“We have been clear at this meeting this weekend that we are concerned about the coercive economic policies of China,” she said. “And what we want to do is build the investment reach, the economic trade reach, of like-minded, freedom-loving democracies.”
Talking about the Iran nuclear issue, Truss warned the Islamic regime that the ongoing talks with world powers in Vienna is “the last chance for Iran to come to the negotiating table with a serious resolution to this issue.”
She reiterated that the international community “will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon.”
Zachary Stieber, Reuters, and PA contributed to this report.
