Britain unveiled a wide range of new sanctions against Russia, as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak arrived at the G7 summit in Japan with a stated mission on her part to push India to show greater support for Ukraine.
Sunak flew to Hiroshima for a three-day meeting of world leaders – and became the first British prime minister to visit the city devastated by an American atomic bomb. In 1945, Sunak announced the UK’s ban on imports of Russian diamonds, copper and nickel of Russian origin. and aluminum, and G7 members are expected to follow suit.
Sunak also identified sanctions targeting 86 other individuals and companies linked to Vladimir Putin, taking the total UK sanctions list to more than 1,500.
Those recently sanctioned are described as part of the Russian president’s “military-industrial complex”, as well as some participants in key economic areas including energy, metals and shipping.
Sunak’s main task is to pressure leaders who have maintained a more neutral stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, particularly Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Before landing in Hiroshima with his wife Akshata Murti, her first official presence on Flight 10, Sunak said he hoped to emphasize the extent of Russia’s war crimes to leaders of non-G7 countries including Modi and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the Brazilian president.
“One thing we have to continue to do is talk to countries like India and Brazil as well. It will be the second part of the summit, which is good,” Sunak said.
“One of my three things is to talk to countries around the world and make sure they understand what is going on, the war crimes that Russia is committing inside Ukraine and why everyone should support achieving a peaceful solution to the conflict.
Sunak and Modi will meet, but it is not yet confirmed that this will be an official bilateral meeting.
Since the UK imposed punitive 35% tariffs on diamonds and minerals from Russia last year, dramatically curtailing trade, an outright ban could be largely symbolic unless done in cooperation with other countries.
The European Union previously stopped banning diamonds because of the sector’s importance to Antwerp, Belgium. Instead, it is expected to call for better tracing technology for Russian diamonds, a commodity that will earn Russia €4.5bn (£3.9bn) in 2021.
Imports of iron, steel, gas, oil and coal to the UK have already been banned from Russia. In addition to discussing Ukraine, the assembled world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, will hold talks on Indo-Pacific security in light of China’s threat to Taiwan, as well as denuclearization, It is a major topic for Fumio Kishida, the Japanese prime minister who is hosting the summit in the first city targeted by an atomic bomb.
The leaders are expected to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum on Saturday. It details the devastation of August 6, 1945, which led to 140,000 deaths by the end of that year.
In comments made before the summit, Sunak explicitly linked Hiroshima’s past to Russia’s actions in Ukraine. “For the sake of global peace and security, we must show that brutal violence and coercion bear no fruit,” he said.
“As today’s sanctions announcements show, the G7 remains united in the face of the threat from Russia and steadfast in our support for Ukraine. We gather today in Hiroshima, a city that embodies the horrors of war and the dividends of peace.”
The summit, which comes after Sunak’s speech to a Council of Europe summit in Reykjavík, is an opportunity for the prime minister to look beyond domestic troubles in the wake of the Conservatives’ dire results in this month’s local elections, in which the party surpassed even its willfully grim predecessors. – Poll predictions of 1000 losses.
However, even when he headed to the G7, he wasn’t immune, facing criticism for being out of touch after telling reporters on the flight to Japan that the family’s income was “vastly exceeding” expectations and that there were “plenty of indications that things are moving in the right direction.” correct “with the economy.
Sunak met Kishida for dinner Thursday night after signing a defense pact agreeing to consult each other on major military decisions. The summit is scheduled to discuss the Chinese threat towards Taiwan, amid escalating hostility from Beijing since the invasion of Ukraine.
The prime minister also held a business reception for British and Japanese companies, where Sunak claims an investment of around £18 billion has been pledged.
