The foreign ministers of the G7 countries and the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, meeting in Tokyo on Wednesday 8 November, expressed their support in a joint statement for “humanitarian pauses and corridors (in Gaza) to facilitate urgently needed assistance, civilian movement, and the release of hostages”, in the context of the conflict between Hamas and Israel.
The G7 also condemned the terrorist attacks perpetrated by Hamas on 7 October and the ongoing missile attacks against Israel, and emphasised Israel’s right to defend itself and its people in accordance with international law. It also called for the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages.
With regard to the humanitarian situation in Gaza, the G7 recalled its commitment, since 7 October, to pay an additional $500 million to the Palestinian people, in particular through UN agencies and other humanitarian actors. The European Commission has increased its humanitarian funding for Gaza by €25 million (see EUROPE 13286/2).
“The important thing is not only to have financial resources, but also the ability to go to Gaza. And to achieve this, the border must offer greater capacity for transporting humanitarian aid”, commented Josep Borrell before the meeting.
The countries welcomed the holding of an international conference on humanitarian issues in Paris on 9 November (see other news) and stressed that the two-state solution “remains the only path to a just, lasting and secure peace”.
The G7 also called on Iran to “refrain from providing support for Hamas and taking further actions that destabilise the Middle East”, including support for Lebanese Hezbollah and other non-state actors.
Ukraine
Against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, the G7 countries have declared that their commitment to supporting Ukraine’s struggle for independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity “will never waver”.
They regretted, among other things, Russia’s decision to go back on its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and discussed a new package of sanctions targeting Russia.
“I hope that in the next few days I will be able to present, together with the [European] Commission, the new sanctions package which will be coordinated here with the members of the G7 in order to offer a global [and] coordinated approach”, said Mr Borrell (see EUROPE 13286/5).
The G7 countries declared that they will “ reinforce our coordination on sanctions to restrict Russia’s access to critical goods and technologies”, before adding that they will continue to take action to “prevent the evasion and circumvention of our measures against Russia”.
The G7 also called on China not to help Russia in its war against Ukraine and to put pressure on Russia to stop its military aggression.
To see the joint statement: https://aeur.eu/f/9fu (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)