Assembling in the Bavarian Alps of south-west Germany, there appeared to be great unity among G7 leaders for ramping up military support for Ukraine and sanctions on Russia. This was particularly the case between Boris Johnson and French president Emmanuel Macron, where a détente seemed to break out following months, if not years, of tensions over Brexit, Aukus and Channel crossings.
Discussions among the leaders included a cap on the price of Russian oil and steps to bar the import of Russian gold in order to “starve the Putin regime of its funding”, as Johnson put it. Moscow already stands accused of missing payments on some foreign debt, which amounts effectively to a default, as Western sanctions have prevented payments in foreign currency as billions of dollars of assets lie frozen abroad.
