U.S. and Canada in Diplomatic Standoff Over Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine as G7 Talks Joint Statement

The Group of Seven (G7) nations are continuing discussions on a potential joint statement to mark the third anniversary of the war against Ukraine, according to Canada’s foreign minister, Melanie Joly, on February 25.

“We’ve been working, indeed, with the Europeans and Americans. We are still having some conversations,” Joly said when asked about the status of the G7 statement.

This comes after Washington opposed the inclusion of language referring to “Russian aggression” in any joint G7 statement about Russia’s War in Ukraine.

“It is a fluid situation and we’ll continue to engage, but I’ve been foreign minister now for three and a half years, and it’s never been so intense in terms of diplomatic engagement, to say the least,” Joly added.

“Canada and other countries don’t agree with the position that the U.S. advocated at the UN, particularly the resolution that they brought up,” Joly said, referring to the U.S. push to soften the U.N. General Assembly’s stance on the war.

Earlier on February 24, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution presented by Ukraine and the European Union that condemned Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and called for the withdrawal of Russian forces from occupied territories. The U.S. voted against the resolution.