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U.S., Allies Vow to Protect Ukraine’s Infrastructure From Russian Attacks


MÜNSTER, Germany – The group of seven nations announced Friday that they will work together to rebuild critical infrastructure in Ukraine that has been destroyed by the Russian military and to protect such sites from subsequent attacks.

Top diplomats from other countries discussed sending more defensive military equipment to Ukraine to help it thwart Russian drone and missile attacks that are crippling its defenses. infrastructure in the country, a senior State Department official said Friday.

Diplomats met behind closed doors, discussing the war and which countries had the right equipment to send Ukraine to air defense, the official said.

Group 7 has been released Broad statement on Friday announced their stance on a variety of issues – from Russia and the Ukraine war to China to Iran – and emphasized their agreement to protect Ukraine’s infrastructure. Claiming to be the pinnacle of two days meeting of foreign ministers at the old town hall of Münster, where negotiations took place that led to the Peace of Westphalia, which ended two 17th-century European wars in which millions died.

“We are focusing more of our security assistance on helping Ukraine defend from these attacks, bolstering its air defenses and increasing defense production,” said Antony J. Blinken, foreign minister. US chief, said at a press conference.

The diplomats also discussed President Vladimir Putin’s veiled threats to use nuclear weapons, the State Department official said. U.S. officials say Putin’s chances of using tactical nuclear weapons on the battlefield are low, but a U.S. intelligence assessment published in mid-October said Russian military leaders spoke about it. When and How to Use Tactical Nuclear Weapons, The New York Times Report this week.

In its statement, the Group of Seven denounced Putin’s recent hints that Moscow could use such weapons.

“Russia’s irresponsible nuclear rhetoric is unacceptable,” the ministers said. “Any use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons by Russia will have serious consequences.”

Now, Putin has adopted a different tactic: using missile and drone attacks to damage Ukraine’s energy grid infrastructure. American and European officials say he is seeking to break the morale of Ukrainians by stripping them of electricity and heating during the winter.

To carry out such attacks, Russia received drones from Iran and diplomats discussed imposing more economic sanctions on Tehran, the US official said. . The official, who declined to be named, detailed the diplomatic phone calls.

Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, spoke via video at the group’s meeting on Thursday afternoon, even though his country is not a G7 member.

Diplomats also talked about how to keep global energy prices from rising because of the war, the US official said. A partial embargo on Russian oil is expected to go into effect in early December, which could lead to a sharp increase in oil prices if allies do not use it. proposed price cap mechanism to get Russia to continue selling its oil to some of the Group of Seven countries, but at a lower price.

The group’s statement said the price cap will be finalized in the coming weeks. And it urges oil-producing countries to increase output.

That plea appeared to be a message to Saudi Arabia, the world’s second-largest oil producer, which joined Russia in leading OPEC Plus in announcing production cuts in October, angering President Biden. . The Times reported that US officials thought they were make a secret agreement with Saudi Arabia in May for OPEC Plus to increase production this year.

The Group of Seven adopted a cautious tone towards China in their statement, contrasting with the more belligerent language of the Biden administration. The first line in the China section says the group will look forward to “constructive cooperation” with China where possible, especially on climate change and global health. The group continues to criticize China’s human rights violations and its aggressive actions towards Taiwan.

The group mentioned concerns about conflicts in the South China Sea and South China Sea as well as the need for “a free and open Indo-Pacific” – language clearly aimed at China, although The country is not named in those sections.

The United States has worked to try to get European nations to take a harder line on China. Prime Minister Olaf Scholz made a one day visit arrived in Beijing on Friday to meet Xi Jinping, China’s leader. He cited German business executives, which raised concerns among Beijing’s critics about whether Germany prioritized economic ties with China over national security and human issues. rights or not.

Blinken said the United States and Europe largely agree on the approach to China. “The convergence of alignment about China,” he said, “is getting stronger and more obvious.”

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