G7 foreign ministers release statement on Russia and Ukraine

At the G7 Foreign Ministers meeting in Liverpool on
Dec. 12, the ministers issued a release stating that they “are united in our
condemnation of Russia’s military build-up and aggressive rhetoric towards
Ukraine.” According to the release, the ministers also confirm their support of
France’s and Germany’s work within the Normandy Format.

In the release, the ministers also frame their stance
within the strictures of international law, stating that “any use of force to
change borders is strictly prohibited,” and that Russia can expect “massive
consequences” if it engages in military aggression. Furthermore, they “commend
Ukraine’s posture of restraint.”

Military.com quotes a senior U.S. official at the
meeting as describing the ministers as being “united in their ‘extreme concern’
about developments” and that a response would have to be swift.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in an
interview on the Meet the Press news show on Dec. 12, said that the G7 governments
are “equally resolute in their determination to stand against Russian
aggression” and that what is at stake is “the basic rules of the road of the
international system.”

James Hydzik: The
argument that Russia is threatening the ‘rules of the road’ of the
international order is perceptive, incisive, and about 20 years too late. There
is simply no need to be generous and state that such resoluteness and strident
calling for swift action should have come in mid-2008. Or in March 2014.

That said,
the statement by the FMs should be warmly welcomed, as it signals that a
divide-and-conquer tactic by the Russians against the G7 powers is likely to be
an uphill battle. At the same time, explaining to western citizens that there
are consequences they would have to bear while the international order is being
saved is likely to be a non-starter for much of the respective populations.
It’s likely that Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov’s “warfare in
Ukraine = less bread in Europe” argument, expressed
last week, will be more convincing.