The United Kingdom warned Russia against
attacking Ukraine at the Group of Seven (G7) meeting of foreign ministers in
Liverpool on Saturday. UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, welcoming the G7 foreign
ministers to the meeting, said, “free democratic nations” to wean
themselves off Russian gas. Top diplomats from the United States, Canada,
France, Germany, Italy and Japan have participated in the summit.

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According to DW.COM, Truss said the G7
meeting would be a “show of unity between like-minded major economies that
we are going to absolutely be strong in our stance against aggression with
respect to Ukraine.”

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Her remarks came at a time when there have
been increasing pressure building upon Russia as the country continues to
deploy troops on the Ukraine border. The US intelligence department has also
said that Russia is likely to invade Ukraine in January.

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Truss said Russia would commit “a strategic
mistake” if it invades Ukraine and Moscow must be ready to face “severe
consequences”. The US and other NATO members have previously said they
will impose strict sanctions on Russia if Moscow attempts to attack Ukraine.

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Addressing the G7 foreign ministers, Truss
said she wanted to work to “make sure that free democratic nations are
able to have an alternative to Russian gas supplies.” This follows US
concerns around the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia to Germany.

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“There have been decisions made by the
free world … in the short term to obtain cheap energy or cheap financing, and
that has a long-term cost for freedom and democracy,” she added. “And
we can’t make that mistake again.”

Asian countries to join the summit

Meanwhile, ministers from the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will join the summit for the first time on
Sunday. South Korea, Australia, South Africa and India will also participate as
“guests” invited by the UK.

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The inclusion of Asian countries is part of
the UK’s “Indo-Pacific tilt” after it left the European Union last
year.

At the summit, besides Russia’s growing
military deployment on the Ukraine border, issues like the vaccination against
COVID-19, climate change, tensions in the Western Balkans, Afghanistan and
North Korea will be discussed.