The Group of Seven announced additional sanctions against Russia, and western public opinion questioned： Can the ＂Russian bear＂ be restrained？

　　[Special correspondent of Global Times in Germany Shen Jiesen Liu Yupeng Ren Zhong] Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) issued a joint statement at the German summit on the 27th, claiming that they would provide "continuous support" to Ukraine. On the same day, the Ukrainian President told the G7 leaders that he hoped that the war in Ukraine would "end before winter comes". Following the US President’s "prediction" the day before that the G7 would ban the import of gold from Russia, it was reported from the summit on the 27th that the G7 would "try to limit the price of Russian oil with the goal of starving Russia". However, as the US media said, it has been more than four months since the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine broke out, and the sanctions plan of "making Putin suffer and forcing him to withdraw his troops" has not been effective for a long time. On the contrary, countries that have allied sanctions against Russia are facing increasing economic pain, and some European countries, including France and Germany, have made plans to return to the "coal age". "Can you hold the Russian bear?" Western media repeatedly asked this question while counting the inventory in the toolbox of sanctions against Russia.

　　G7 issued a statement on "continuous support" for Ukraine.

　　According to the Itar-Tass news agency, on the 27th local time, Zelensky delivered a video speech at the G7 summit, thanking the G7 countries for their support and calling for strengthening sanctions against Russia: "The consistent position of the G7 countries on sanctions is also very important for us, and sanctions should be further strengthened, especially by limiting the oil export price of the aggressors." He said that poor fighting conditions will make it more difficult for his troops to launch a counterattack, called for providing air defense systems for Ukraine, helping to export food and assisting national reconstruction, and expressed the hope that Russia’s special military operations "can end before winter comes."

　　Subsequently, the G7 leaders issued a joint statement, declaring that they would continue to provide support to Ukraine "as long as necessary". "We will continue to provide financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support and stand with Ukraine when necessary." The G7 statement on supporting Ukraine reads as follows. The statement also stated that the future peaceful solution will be decided by Ukraine itself and "not affected by external pressure".

　　According to the British "Guardian" reported on the 27th, in the past weekend, Russia stepped up its air strikes against Ukraine, including the air strikes against the capital Kiev. The Russian News Agency said on the 26th that Ukrainian troops attacked the Black Sea drilling platform in Crimea that day, which was the second attack in a week. Canada deployed two warships to the Baltic Sea and the North Atlantic on Sunday, strengthening NATO’s East Wing’s response to Russia. According to a report by CNN on the 27th, the United States plans to announce as early as this week that it has purchased an advanced medium-and long-range ground-to-air missile defense system for Ukraine — — "Norwegian Advanced Air Defense System" (NASAMS) can strike targets more than 160 kilometers away.

　　According to the German "Sü ddeutsche Zeitung" reported on the 27th, leaders of India, Indonesia, South Africa, Senegal and Argentina will also participate in the G7 meeting. The topics on the second day of the summit also included health, energy and climate, and the global food situation.

　　Trying to limit Russian oil prices?

　　The White House released a message in official website on the 27th. On the same day, US President Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen issued a joint statement on European energy security, saying that the United States and the European Commission will work together to find ways to further reduce Russia’s energy income in the next few months, so as to further weaken the sources of funds needed for Russian military operations against Ukraine. "G7 leaders will try to limit Russian oil prices," CNN27 quoted an unnamed senior US government official as saying on the 27th. "The goal here is to starve Russia."

　　On the same day, another CNN report said that in order to make it more difficult for China, India and other countries to continue importing oil from Russia, Europe intends to gradually "ban the provision of insurance for ships carrying Russian crude oil". In addition, with the support of Europe, the United States can impose so-called "secondary sanctions" on third-party countries that continue to do business with Russia, just as the United States has done with Iran and Venezuela. According to the report, the US government "has not ruled out this possibility", but this move will encounter greater political resistance and generate more confusion.

　　Russia’s Kommersant reported on the 27th that G7 countries are discussing the possibility of imposing an upper limit on Russian oil prices through transportation and insurance restrictions, which will inevitably encounter resistance from oil-producing countries because it is not in their interests. In addition, all oil importing countries are unlikely to abide by the oil price ceiling rules stipulated by the G7, "therefore, this plan will not succeed".

　　In addition, according to the German newspaper Sü ddeutsche Zeitung, the United States will announce new tariffs on 570 Russian goods and use sanctions to crack down on Russia’s defense supply chain. G7 leaders will also vote to sanction "those responsible for human rights violations (such as war crimes)", and the State Council will impose an entry ban on about 500 Russian government officials.

　　Despite the high-profile display of "United response" at the G7 Summit, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) said on the 27th that in recent weeks, the unity of western countries on the Russian-Ukrainian issue has "wavered" and some leaders have begun to discuss "long-term relations" with Russia. Some British government officials have expressed concern that France, in particular, is losing interest in this "long-term war" with the increasing domestic political pressure. This is why leaders of India, Indonesia, South Africa and other countries will be invited to attend the G7 summit to discuss what other measures can be taken to deal with global inflation.

　　"Can you hold the Russian bear?"

　　Although the G7 summit has turned over the toolbox of sanctions against Russia again, the interest of western public opinion in sanctions against Russia seems to be declining. "Russia has been making money," CNN27 said on the 27th. The United States and Europe are currently discussing several measures, including limiting the import price of Russian energy, centralized procurement by the EU, banning ship insurance, and pressuring countries to continue to buy energy from Russia. They all have disadvantages. Johnston, a scholar at the Columbia Center for Global Energy Policy, said: "There are some tools that can increase the crackdown on Russia, but they will make consumers in the United States and Europe pay a huge price directly."

　　Bloomberg reported on the 27th that Russia faced "the first foreign debt default since 1918" as the grace period of two euro bond coupons expired on the 26th. In this regard, Dzhabarov, the first vice chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Russian Federation Council (the upper house of parliament), wrote on social media that "Western banks have frozen (stolen) huge funds belonging to China". Peskov, Russian Presidential Press Secretary, said on 27th that he disagreed with the assertion that Russia defaulted on its debts, and the funds could not reach the owners, so the problem was not Russia. He reminded that the Russian Ministry of Finance paid a sum of money in foreign currency as early as May, and the money was not sent to the payee. This is not a problem for Russia. Beliaev, a Russian financial analyst, said that since Russia has money, it is impossible for Russia to default, and it will not have any impact on Russia’s economy.

　　"Can you hold the Russian bear?" The website of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in the United States published an article saying that the short-term financial impact of sanctions on Russia seems to have decreased since May. Reducing energy exports will not have a fatal impact on Moscow’s financial situation, because the Russian government’s current balance sheet is in good condition, and the public debt is 284 billion US dollars, accounting for only 16% of GDP in 2021. "The US-led alliance faces setbacks and pains because of sanctions against Russia," The New York Times said on the 26th. "In Washington and European countries, an increasingly prominent problem is that policy makers may have serious differences on further sanctions against Russia."

　　"Ursula von der Leyen hopes to participate in the G20 summit with Putin", German weekly Der Spiegel said on 27th that in an interview with zweites deutsches fernsehen on 26th, she openly opposed boycotting the G20 summit — — Even if Putin will attend the meeting, "we must consider very carefully whether we will paralyze the whole G20, and I don’t advocate it".