In the recent summit of G7 in Hiroshima, countries have decided to unveil new sanctions on Russia
The G7 (Group of 7), which is considered as the most powerful group of countries have recently decided to levy fresh set of sanctions on Russia. This includes sanctions on Russian diamonds, aircrafts and ships which is considered a major source of revenue for the country. This move comes as Russia continues to wage a war against Ukraine which began on 24 February 2022.
The member countries of G7 have promised to uphold international peace and security, especially at a time when the world is grappling with the consequences of the Russia-Ukraine war. The summit which saw the presence of various world leaders including US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is taking place in Hiroshima, the city which faced nuclear bomb attack from US in 1945.
Russia’s increasing attacks on Ukraine
In the backdrop of the G7 summit, Russia continues to attack Kyiv as it launched its ninth wave of missile attack this month. At the same time, Ukraine claims that it has intercepted and shot down most of the missiles coming from Kremlin. Thousands of people have already fled their homes to safeguard their lives. Not only this, the war also had a deleterious effect on the economies of various countries putting them in recession as was seen in the case of Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Inflation reached the peak point as the prices of essential commodities continued to soar.
Countries which have imposed sanctions
Various countries have announced new sanctions on Russia in the G7 summit in Japan. UK’s Prime Minister Sunak announced a ban on imports of Russia origin copper, nickel and aluminum. Apart from this, these sanctions also target 86 individuals and firms linked to Vladimir Putin. Similarly, US have also decided to impose sanctions on 70 entities who are involved in Russia’s defense production. Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s Prime Minister has also joined hands with other G7 members to punish Russia. G7 members include USA, UK, Japan, Italy, Canada, France and Germany. In 1998, Russia became a part of the grouping making it G8 but later it was suspended.
Economic Pressure on Russia
It is expected that these sanctions will hurt Russia’s economy as Russian firms and individuals who are blacklisted will not be able to export their items to other countries, thereby, suffering losses. These sanctions are also meant to isolate Russia from the rest of the world. A series of sanctions have been imposed targeting various sectors of the economy such as financial sector, energy sector and military sector.
Effectiveness of the sanctions
Although a barrage of sanctions have been imposed on Moscow, a question arises on the effectiveness of these sanctions. US government has frozen all the foreign reserves of Russian central bank preventing Moscow from using them. Not only this, it also banned Russian banks from the SWIFT system. The G7 also imposed a price cap of $60 per barrel on Russian oil, in order to reduce Russia’s profitability in energy sector. However, all these attempts have failed to deter Russia to stop the war.
It is quite clear that the sanctions imposed by western countries have clearly failed to compel Russia to stop this war. Although, Moscow has suffered from some economic pain but it has not led to any widespread changes in the economy as Russia is still an exporter of many crucial commodities. Therefore, it remains to be seen that how the G7 Countries come up with innovative solutions to bring peace in this conflict ridden world.
