G7 foreign ministers agree winter aid package to prevent Russia ‘breaking’ Ukraine

G7 foreign ministers have agreed a winter aid package to prevent Russia from “breaking Ukraine”, in the words of German minister Annalena Baerbock.

Hosting a meeting in Münster of colleagues from the US, Canada, France, the UK, Japan and Italy, Ms Baerbock said Germany, which holds the rotating G7 presidency, was determined to show that “democratic countries are stronger than this war”.

“For those cities he cannot conquer, [Russian president Vladimir] Putin now plans to make them starve, freeze and die of thirst,” said Ms Baerbock. “If Putin’s plan were to work — launching a military attack in order to annex territory — he will have already delivered a blueprint for the next wars of aggression.”

As Russia targets Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, the G7 is focused on aid deliveries including generators, heaters, pumps, residential and sanitary containers as well as blankets and tents.

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Ms Baerbock hosted Thursday’s gathering of G7 foreign ministers — their 10th this year — in the “chamber of peace” where the Treaty of Westphalia was signed in October 1648. By ending the calamitous Thirty Years’ War, which cost up to 12 million lives, the peace treaty was “a cradle of modern international law ... that we must preserve”, she said.

“Fundamental concepts such as the equality and sovereignty of states were negotiated for the very first time in a major peace agreement,” she added.

As chancellor Olaf Scholz visits Beijing on Friday, Ms Baerbock insisted Germany and other G7 members would not repeat with China the strategic mistakes they made with Russia

China policy

She recalled how Japan had pointed out for years that China had “changed in recent years: not just a partner on international issues but also a competitor and much stronger rival”.

With an eye on Germany’s China policy, US officials said Washington had “strongly suggested” to Berlin last week that a Chinese firm not be sold a controlling interest in Hamburg’s port terminal. In the end, Germany agreed to sell China’s Cosco a 24.9 per cent stake in the terminal, down from an original bid for 35 per cent.

US officials said China and Taiwan would also be high on the agenda in Münster.

“This G7 ministerial is, for us, coming at an important time,” said a senior US state department official, calling the foreign minister group “a vital co-ordinating mechanism” for joint policy.

Russia’s war in Ukraine will dominate the two-day meeting, in particular growing Iranian drone assistance to Moscow. Also on the agenda: the violent response by Tehran security forces to peaceful protests.

Attending the meeting as guests are officials from Ghana, Kenya and the African Union for talks on how to better address climate change and defend democracy.

The high-security gathering began with a security emergency when a man was seen leaving a suitcase at a fence near the venue before departing quickly.

Police sealed off the area, evacuated homes and sent for the bomb squad who found only clothes inside.

As US secretary of state Antony Blinken arrived, meanwhile, another man waving a far-right flag reportedly gave the illegal Hitler salute and was arrested by police.