G7 Pledges To Help Balkans Reduce Dependency On Russian Hydrocarbons

The G7 foreign ministers said on Saturday that their countries stand ready to help the Balkan states reduce their reliance on Russian energy commodities and extolled their efforts to align with the restrictive policies against Russia imposed by the European Union

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th May, 2022) The G7 foreign ministers said on Saturday that their countries stand ready to help the Balkan states reduce their reliance on Russian energy commodities and extolled their efforts to align with the restrictive policies against Russia imposed by the European Union.

"We commend Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro and North Macedonia for fully aligning their foreign policies with the EU, including sanctions and their implementation. We urge Serbia to do the same. We welcome the alignment of Bosnia and Herzegovina with EU restrictive measures on Russia and unilateral alignment of Kosovo with those measures.

We must continue to help Western Balkans to reduce their dependency on Russian hydrocarbons and vulnerability to economic coercion," the foreign ministers said in a joint communique after a meeting in the German city of Weissenhaus earlier in the day.

The three-day meeting of foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States was held in Germany from Thursday to Saturday to discuss Russia's military operation in Ukraine, the expanding influence of China and the situation in the Indo-Pacific region, as well as in Afghanistan, Africa, and the middle East.