G7 leaders pledge to counter attempts to circumvent anti-Russian sanctions - statement

TOKYO. May 19 (Interfax) - The G7 leaders have agreed to counter attempts to circumvent Western sanctions against Russia and to step up economic pressure on Moscow, the G7 said in a statement on Friday.

"We will further prevent the evasion and circumvention of our measures against Russia," the statement said.

The G7 "will remain united in imposing coordinated sanctions and other economic actions," the statement said, adding that the seven nations are interacting with third countries through which "restricted G7 goods, services, or technology may be provided to Russia."

Russia will be deprived of G7 technologies, industrial equipment and services it needs for military operations, the statement said.

The leaders of the G7 member states also said in the statement that they believe that the restrictions they have imposed on the price of Russian oil are yielding positive results.

"In Elmau [which hosted the G7 summit in June 2022], we agreed to launch a price cap on Russian oil and petroleum products. This is working," the statement said. This measure made it possible to limit Russia's revenues, it said.

Prices for oil and gas around the world fell considerably thanks to this measure, the statement said.

Starting on December 5, 2022, the European Union imposed a price cap on Russian oil in the amount of $60 per barrel, and an embargo on supplies of Russian oil to European countries. The G7 member states and Australia introduced a similar ban.

The G7 countries will also thwart attempts to use Russian foreign branches of banks to circumvent sanctions imposed on the Russian financial system, the member countries said.

Consequently, the G7 promises to take additional steps whose substance is not disclosed in the document.

The G7 will work on further restricting Russia's utilization of the international financial system in order to continue its actions in Ukraine. The G7 is ready to take further steps against those willfully supporting the financing of the actions, according to the statement.

The G7 will also coordinate actions in order to maintain financial channels for conducting fundamentally important transactions.