The statement, representing countries with a hawkish outlook on Russia, such as the United States and Britain, and more dovish ones, such as Italy and France, is the latest effort by the Biden administration to rally international support for Ukraine as U.S. intelligence finds that the Kremlin has planned out a potential multi-front offensive in Ukraine involving up to 175,000 troops. Russia has denied having any such plans.
“Any use of force to change borders is strictly prohibited under international law. Russia should be in no doubt that further military aggression against Ukraine would have massive consequences and severe cost in response,” the G-7 statement said, calling on the Kremlin to “de-
escalate” and “pursue diplomatic channels.”
Projecting a united front against Russia has been a challenge for the Biden administration, as continental Europe interprets the threat from Russia in different and sometimes conflicting ways.
Last week, when Biden told reporters that the United States would be announcing a meeting between the United States, Russia and a select group of European allies to see if “accommodations” could be made with Moscow to resolve the crisis, it set off alarm bells in Eastern European capitals where a fear persists of Washington negotiating their region’s fate in their absence.
“Western capitals talking directly to Moscow, us not being at the table — this has ominous vibes from our 20th century history,” said a senior Eastern European official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive issue.
Senior State Department officials have since clarified that no such announcement of a meeting of the kind Biden described was forthcoming. The White House also scrambled to set up a call on Thursday between Biden and Eastern European officials to provide assurances that nothing would be decided in meetings with Russian officials without their input on matters that affect them.