But exactly how long this can last remains an open question – and a source of concern – for leaders who are now leaving the Bavarian Alps after a two-day G7 summit.
Here are four excerpts from Biden’s first big meeting from his last international trip:
The war in Ukraine brought together Western leaders in condemning Russia and imposing sanctions. But when the war enters its fifth month, the economic consequences of Russia’s isolation are being felt in high gas prices, which is a serious political responsibility. Meanwhile, the momentum in the war seems to be in Russia’s favor.
Reversing these parallel trends was the main goal of this year’s G7 summit. Leaders pledged new security aid to Ukraine, including a new United States missile defense system, the same model used to protect airspace in Washington, DC. Ammunition and radar systems are also expected in the last shipment.
But another shipment of weapons is unlikely to end the war. With no clear path to victory on the battlefield, leaders are left to wonder how much longer the fighting will continue – and in addition, how much longer the economic consequences of the war will pull the global economy.
Zelensky’s remarks to the group on Monday provided at least his point of view on the issue: he wants the war to end by winter. He pressured the group to support a major military offensive to return the initiative against Russia.
“Zelensky was very focused on trying to ensure that Ukraine would be in the best possible position on the battlefield in the coming months, as opposed to the following years, because he believed that a deepening conflict was not in the interests of the Ukrainian people. “US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said after the meeting.
Leaders are working to ease the pain of the war while maintaining pressure on Russia
The waning set of Western sanctions against Russia has had a dramatic impact. On Monday, the country failed to repay its foreign debt for the first time since the Bolshevik revolution more than a century ago.
The White House said the failure showed the strength of Western sanctions imposed on Russia after it invaded Ukraine. At the G7 this week, leaders imposed new measures, including a ban on imports of new Russian gold.
At the same time, the sanctions hurt Americans through higher gas prices, an effect of global bans on Russian energy imports.
The focus on Russian energy has been the subject of controversy since the beginning of the war. And the complexity of pursuing one of the world’s largest producers was confirmed in the following months. As Americans and Europeans suffer from high gas prices, Moscow is still reaping huge revenues from its oil exports – in part due to soaring prices.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s plan aims to reverse this. Over the past few months, it has pressured G-7 countries to impose a ceiling on the price of Russian oil, limiting the amount of money Russia makes from the places it still exports.
Leaders agreed on the idea of a summit this week. But the exact mechanism for this remains unclear. Officials said they were confident that Western countries had enough leverage through their transport and distribution networks to impose restrictions.
Leaders seem to remain united in responding to the war for now
How and when to engage Putin divided some of the G7 leaders, who sometimes disagreed over whether the time was right to reach a negotiated agreement or to strive for a decisive victory on the battlefield.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson entered the talks this week, promising to unite leaders behind a plan to help Zelensky sustain the fight. And while French President Emmanuel Macron has previously warned against “humiliating” Putin, he appears to have agreed with Johnson on support for Ukraine following a G7 summit.
Meanwhile, Biden has promised billions of dollars in security assistance to Ukraine. It seems that its main goal is to keep Western leaders in line with their goals at a time when fractures are beginning to emerge.
“We have to stay together because Putin has hoped from the beginning that somehow the G7 or NATO will split, but we are not and will not do so,” he said during a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. “We cannot allow this aggression to take the form it has and get away with it.”
As the G7 has concluded, leaders do not appear to have reached any consensus on when to resume attempts to negotiate with Putin. But the Russian leader was still very much in the minds of the leaders as they sat down to a working lunch on Sunday.
“We need to show that we are tougher than Putin,” Johnson told the group as he sat down.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a proposal: “Horseback riding with bare breasts,” he said as the leaders laughed.
The Supreme Court, which overturned Rowe v. Wade, looms over Biden in Europe
On his first day at the summit, Biden told reporters that the Supreme Court’s decision two days earlier to overturn Rowe against Wade had not been made at the G-7 summit.
But for his fellow leaders, it was an alarming signal from the United States. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said “many votes” at the G7 summit remained “very sad and very worried” about the decision.
“We discussed gender equality and there really were a lot of voices, very sad and very worried,” von der Layen was asked by CNN’s Christian Amanpour about the Supreme Court’s decision.
Johnson, in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, called the decision a “step back.”
Biden rejected the decision and promised to explore ways to protect access to abortion. He and his aides described the decision as a major step backwards for women’s rights, and gender equality was one of the topics at this year’s G7 summit, where leaders devoted an entire working session to the issue.
Yet during the usual family photos and work meals, the lack of gender equality among the group – eight men and one woman – was striking. This was the first time in 16 years without a nationally elected woman in the group.
Add Comment