G7 leaders to hold virtual meeting on further Ukraine support, says Germany

BERLIN

On German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s invitation, Group of Seven (G7) leaders will hold a video conference later on Monday to discuss the war in Ukraine and further support for Kyiv, a German government spokesman said.

“The focus of today’s exchange will be continued support for Ukraine, as well as the priorities of the German G7 Council Presidency, which runs until the end of the month,” Steffen Hebestreit told journalists in Berlin.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will also attend the video conference, he added.

Hebestreit stressed there was no special reason for the virtual meeting, saying “it had been planned for a long time.”

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will take part in an international Ukraine conference in Paris on Tuesday.

It is assumed that many participants will announce further aid at the meeting, said a Foreign Ministry spokesman.

“You can expect Foreign Minister Baerbock to announce something too,” he said.

According to the spokesman, the conference in the French capital is “another sign of international solidarity with Ukraine.”

Among other things, the meeting will reportedly deal with short-term measures to restore Ukraine’s energy and water infrastructure.