G7 warns it will not recognise a border change imposed by force

The G7 foreign ministers warned Saturday in a joint communiqué after their meeting in Berlin that they will never recognise a border change imposed by force, as Russia is trying to do with its aggression against Ukraine. 

"We will not recognise a border change that Russia has tried to impose through aggression," the communiqué said.

German Minister Annalena Baerbock reiterated this position at the meeting's closing press conference, saying that "the border change that Russia wants to impose through war will never be recognised".

Baerbock said that the attitude of the international community now will be decisive for the future. "What we do or don't do now will define our relations in the future," she said.

The German minister also said that the G7 will establish a mechanism to unmask Russian propaganda, especially where it has "fertile ground".

Baerbock also referred to the effects of the war on grain prices and said that Russia seems determined to extend the war to the whole world by turning it into a war for food.

"It's been a G7 meeting like we've never had before, innocent people are still dying in Ukraine," she said.

The G7 is an informal forum that brings together the world's seven most industrialised countries. Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US belong to the group.