The President landed in Germany late Saturday, local time.
Still, the negotiations between Germany and Spain raise big questions. Most important is the ability to maintain a unified Western response to the conflict. Prices for gas, food and other commodities.
Maintaining pressure
After repeating western sanctions several times, Moscow feels a pinch. However, while the fighting is shifting east from Kyiv, the gradual increase in Moscow has led to increased anxiety in the United States and Europe in the orbit of war.
At the same time, Russia's sanctions on oil and gas have contributed to the rise in energy prices and have caused pain for gas pumps. And the impact of the war on Ukraine's grain exports has led to rising food prices and the threat of hunger in poor countries. This is a topic that is expected to be discussed this week.
Subsequent political collapses have raised questions about leaders' willingness to maintain pressure campaigns as the war progresses.
"Ukraine is very imminent. The big question is whether this group can proceed with sanctions," said Matt Goodman, Senior Vice President of Economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Says. International studies in Washington.
Zelensky will effectively appeal for more sanctions and more military aid when appearing in the G7 and NATO. U.S. officials also said Biden, along with other leaders, will unveil measures to increase pressure on Russia's aggression, but they are not sure what they will be. Did not mention.
At the same time, Biden expects the group to discuss steps to stabilize the energy market. One official said the G7 would be the "center of discussion" at the Bavarian Alps castle where it was convened. ..
Biden and his fellow G7 leaders have agreed to announce a new gold import ban from Russia, sources familiar with the announcement told CNN. Gold is Russia's second largest export after energy. The Treasury will announce a decision on Tuesday to ban the import of new gold into the United States. "We will further isolate Russia from the global economy by blocking participation in the gold market," sources said.
Finding the end of the war
At the beginning of the war, Western leaders gathered behind the sanctions system and isolated Russian President Vladimir Putin. But a few months later, how to end the war, and how to end sanctions that could potentially drive inflation, led to tensions.
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who visited Kyiv for the second time last week, has established himself as Zelensky's top ally, claiming that Ukraine "must win." Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron has warned against making Russia "humiliating." And with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, he has maintained an open channel of communication with the Kremlin.
It sometimes condemns Putin for genocide and war crimes, and at the end of his last visit to Europe he confronts Biden, who says he "cannot maintain power." Secretary of Defense Joe Biden said Russia must be "weakened" after visiting Ukraine.
Biden's aide claims that the unity he has cultivated has not been compromised.
"That is, all nations are talking about themselves. All nations are concerned about what they want to do and what they don't, but as far as the alliance is concerned, it is. It's really more powerful and feasible than ever. It's more so than it is today. " John Kirby, Coordinator of Strategic Communications for the White House National Security Council, said.
This week, leaders need to discuss how the conflict will end, either through Ukrainian concessions, more collaborative efforts to mediate the ceasefire, or endless battles over months. Because of this, these differences can lead to intense conversations.
"I don't think anyone knows for sure," Kirby said this week when asked how long the war would last.
After all, the greatest threat to Western determination could be fatigue between leaders and their inhabitants in a war with no clear path to end.
"It was clear from the beginning that it would become more and more difficult over time as the fatigue of the war came," Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas told CNN earlier this month. "Not only will a new crisis occur, but if we move forward and impose sanctions, we will first hurt Russia, but then our side too."
New NATO members
This week's NATO summit in Madrid was once seen as a potential welcome party for the latest members of the alliance. -The tracking of recent applications for participation in Sweden and Finland has been shattered by obstacles posed by Turkey and its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The delay led to frustration that what might have been a strong signal to Putin was replaced
Prime Minister Erdogan threatened his country's security. He accused him of containing "terrorist" organizations that claimed to be, especially Kurdish from Turkey and elsewhere. He demanded the expulsion of certain followers of US-based opposition. The prime minister blamed the failure of the coup in 2016.
US authorities are confident that the applications of both countries will eventually succeed. Cials from various countries including Turkey.
However, they expressed little conviction that Erdogan's concerns could be resolved by the end of the summit.
New focus: China
At last year's G7 summit in English on the Cornish coast, Biden blames fellow leaders for human rights abuses in China. The last communiqué that pressured us to insert a new language. Up to the document, the group had occasional heated conversations in a closed room about a collective approach to China.
This topic can lead to confusing conversations, as some European leaders do not necessarily share Biden's view of China as an existential threat. Still, the president has repeatedly revealed that he wants to convince his fellow leaders to take a stricter policy. And Russia's invasion of Ukraine amplified the frequently-spoken warnings of dictatorship and democratic presidents.
"It's no exaggeration to say that last year we talked about China's compulsory economic practices for the first time and became an important watershed for the G7," a senior government official said this week. "We expect it to be a topic of larger conversation, if anything."
Even at NATO, leaders are the final "strategic concept" document, especially. China will be included for the first time in the long-term challenges that China poses to Europe's security. For the first time, Asian leaders, including Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea, will attend the summit as guests.
And Biden will make a new effort to launch a global infrastructure partnership aimed at advancing low- and middle-income countries, another attempt to challenge China's reach. I am planning.
Climate Initiatives
G7 countries also have the goal of reducing fossil fuel use and taking meaningful steps to address the climate crisis. Discuss. However, the competition to reduce Russia's natural gas in Europe and ease gasoline prices in the United States has had a major impact on these countries' efforts to tackle climate change. And they are quickly running out of time to reach their goals.
After the EU advertised accelerating the transition to clean energy in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, individual European countries, including Germany and the United Kingdom, turned to coal to replace lost gas. I'm back. Germany is also seeking new gas supplies in Africa.
"Germany is beginning to retreat and Prime Minister Olaf Scholz is considering a New Deal policy with Senegal on gas supply, which is a disturbing sign of the May G7 unification on the transition from fossil fuels. "The leader of the geopolitical program at Climate Diplomacy and the Global Climate Think Tank E3G told CNN. "What's happening in Germany right now is sending the wrong message."
Similarly, Biden and his administration have made lowering petrol prices at home a top priority. Biden recently upheld a petrol tax holiday that many members of his own party opposed. Scott also told CNN that he was looking for a concrete commitment from the United States to phase out coal, which had been struggling in past climate negotiations.
"It's time for the United States to actually put some new policies on the table," Scott said. "It means clarifying when and how the United States will end its obsession with coal. Government changes and the resulting wave of climate change ambitions and goal-setting are now somewhat. It has expired. "
