On the second anniversary of the illegal "referendums" in the occupied territories of Ukraine, the foreign ministers of the G7 reaffirmed that they will never recognize Russia's annexation of Ukrainian regions.
The statement was published by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as Italy holds the presidency of the G7 this year.
The foreign ministers of Italy, Canada, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, and Japan, along with the High Representative of the EU, emphasized their "unwavering support for Ukraine and its territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence."
"We will never accept these or other violations of international law committed by Russia against Ukraine and its people and we will continue to condemn in the strongest possible terms Russia’s illegal aggression, its human rights violations and abuses in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and the ongoing brutal attacks destroying civilian, critical and urban infrastructure," the statement reads.
They called on Russia to adhere to the UN Charter and pledged to continue providing political, military, financial, economic, and humanitarian support to Ukraine and its legitimate defense.
"This war of aggression can end now if Russia withdraws its forces immediately, completely, and unconditionally from all Ukrainian territory to its internationally recognized borders, withdraws its claims of annexation of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, as well as the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, and respects Ukraine’s sovereign rights as an independent nation," the G7 foreign ministers stressed.
