President Joe Biden began his first day at the G7 summit on Sunday by praising the German chancellor and promising that Western leaders would remain united against Vladimir Putin.
“Thank you thank you … we have to stay together,” he told Olaf Scholz as they looked out over the breathtaking mountain views at Schloss Elmau, the wonderful setting for the summit.
‘Because Putin has been relying on NATO and the G7 from the beginning. But we have not and we are not going. ‘
Russia and Ukraine will dominate the summit as G7 leaders assess how well sanctions work. They will also discuss the world’s deteriorating economic climate.
The timing of the summit can no longer be timely with Ukrainian forces losing ground in the east of the country, and rockets falling on the capital Kiev for the first time in three weeks.
Scholz was waiting for Biden at a pavilion with panoramic Alpine views when Biden arrived on deck.
The two leaders took a moment to record the surroundings before sitting down to discuss the day’s agenda.
“Do not jump,” Biden joked to Scholz when he saw him standing by the picturesque deck, the mountains visible in the distance.
He removed his distinctive pilot sunglasses and shook Scholz’s hand and told him ‘good to see you’.
President Joe Biden begins his first day at the G7 meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
They started by admiring the breathtaking Alpine views at the Schloss Elmau venue for the G7 venue in Germany
President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stressed to stay together on Russia’s war against Ukraine
“I also skied, I did not ski for a long time,” Biden continued. “It’s beautiful.”
Then it was business.
The president will spend the day in formal and informal meetings with the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the European Union.
Russia and its war in Ukraine will be “at the top of the list” of agenda items, a senior administration official of the day said.
“We will continue to work on the economic challenges we face,” Biden said.
As the G7 leaders met in Germany, Russia intensified its attacks in Ukraine. Russian forces attacked the capital of Kiev for the first time in weeks and hit at least two residential buildings.
The fallout from the invasion will be on the agenda. Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky will address the G7 on Monday.
The first formal session for the leaders of the world’s seven largest economies will be the economy and the high food and gas prices that resulted from both the invasion of Ukraine and the world that emerged from the covid pandemic.
Like the United States, Germany, Canada and the United Kingdom are struggling with record high inflation.
“The disruptions that generally stem from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, even if the leaders, including President Biden, will be focused on the challenge and the challenges and disruptions of the moment,” a senior administration official said Sunday morning.
Biden will also spend his time at the G7 – and at the NATO summit later this week – to keep Western allies together against Russian sanctions.
The US, UK, Canada and Japan are implementing a new round of sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin in an attempt to isolate him financially.
The countries ban the import of Russian gold, which, besides oil, is its largest revenue generator.
“The United States has imposed unprecedented costs on Putin to deny him the revenue he needs to finance his war against Ukraine,” Biden wrote on Twitter.
“Together, the G7 will announce that we will ban the import of Russian gold, a major export that will bring in tens of billions of dollars for Russia.”
The West has already imposed a series of sanctions on Russian oil, luxury goods and other items.
But questions remain about the effectiveness of those financial penalties.
“The short-term financial impact of the sanctions on Russia’s economy has been significant, but it appears to have disappeared since May,” the Center for Strategic and International Studies reported this month.
And Russian oil, the country’s largest source of revenue, is still being bought – China and India are picking up the slack left over when the US and allies began banning Russian oil.
While oil sales are down, prices are up, helping to generate billions for Putin’s war.
Russia is still recovering $ 1 billion a day from its oil reserves, the Center for Energy and Clear Sky Research has found.
The Biden administration is working on the sanctions.
Biden and Scholz met hours after missiles hit Kyiv for the first time in weeks. Rescue workers can be seen here evacuating a person from a residential building damaged by a strike that, according to Kyiv Major Vitali Klitshko, seriously injured
Fourteen rocket attacks erupted around the city and its environs around 6:30 a.m. Sunday morning, shattering the fragile peace and tranquility the city has enjoyed since Putin’s forces moved out of northern Ukraine.
‘The US has increased the world and imposed rapid and significant economic costs. It will deny Putin any income he needs to finance his war. In this case, gold after energy is Russia’s second largest export and a source of significant revenue for Putin and Russia, ‘said a senior administration official.
The official further said the effect of the sanctions’is meant to be cumulative, not just at the moment, and we are already seeing the extent to which sanctions are undermining the productive capacity of the Russian economy, especially in sectors such as technology, defense and other important industries, and are accumulating these impacts only in time such that Russia’s ability to wage war will diminish over time as a result of the collective steps taken by the G7. ‘
Biden’s day will be spent in meetings, including lunches and dinners with G7 leaders. He will also attend an official welcoming ceremony and take a family photo.
The president arrived in Germany on a Saturday night welcome to a red carpet – complete with flags fluttering and an orchestra playing. A large group of people in traditional Bavarian dress greeted him along with Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Soder.
Two children, also in traditional dress, gave him a bouquet of flowers.
Biden also signed the Gold Book of the Bavarian state government.