G7 condemns putin's pseudo-referendums plans and nuclear threats
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After the meeting in New York, the G7 ministers issued a joint statement condemning russia's latest escalating steps in the war against Ukraine, European Pravda reports.
Foreign Minister Baerbock read the statement in her capacity as Chair of the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the High-Level Week of the UN General Assembly.
The ministers emphasized that any state in the world in its foreign policy should refrain from threatening to use force against other states or resort to other actions that contradict the UN's principles and condemned the Kremlin's latest decisions.
"Any referenda held under conditions of Russian military presence, intimidation, and forced deportation cannot be free or fair. Any annexation of Ukrainian territory would be a gross violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and the UN Charter," they emphasized, calling on the rest of the states to do the same position
The G7 also promises further point sanctions and continued economic and political pressure on the russian federation.
"They [G7 foreign ministers] deplored deliberate Russian escalatory steps, including the partial mobilization of reservists and irresponsible nuclear rhetoric. Russia must immediately stop its aggression, withdraw its troops and military equipment from Ukraine and respect Ukraine's sovereignty and the territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders," the statement said.
russia is also called out to stop "filtering" and the forced deportation of Ukrainians from the occupied territories to the russian federation.
The G7 Foreign Ministers and the High Representative also expressed their deep concerns given the latest reports of atrocities committed by the russian army in parts of Ukraine recently liberated by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, including in particular reports of numerous graves, crime scenes, and torture facilities in the city of Izium, the Kharkiv region.
"The G7 Foreign Ministers and the High Representative agreed that the swift and thorough preservation of evidence on the ground is of utmost importance in order to hold the perpetrators accountable for crimes committed. Ukraine can rely on the support of the G7 in this regard," the ministers stated.
The G7 Foreign Ministers also mentioned the shelling near the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant and the occupation of the Zaporizhzhia NPP.
"They [ministers] underlined that Russia must immediately withdraw its troops and military equipment from the ZNPP and hand back the control over the ZNPP to its rightful owner Ukraine," they stated.
Read Rubryka's timeline of war: current news on Ukraine's defense against russia's aggression.
