The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven industrialized nations on Thursday called for a peaceful resolution of the Taiwan issue amid heightened tensions over the self-ruled democratic island, according to the Japanese government.

On the first day of their two-day meeting in the western German city of Munster, the top G-7 diplomats "reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait," demanding that cross-strait issues be resolved by peaceful means, the Foreign Ministry said Friday.

Foreign ministers of the Group of Seven industrialized nations meet in Munster, Germany, on Nov. 3, 2022. (Pool/Getty/Kyodo)

China and Taiwan have been governed separately since they split in 1949 as a result of a civil war, and Beijing regards the island as a breakaway province to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary.

The ministers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, plus the European Union, also agreed on the vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific promoted by Tokyo and Washington in a veiled counter to China's expanding military activities in the region, according to the ministry.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said at the talks that the G-7 needs to push China to play a responsible role as a major power, while notifying Beijing of the group's "preparedness for cooperation in fields where they can work together," the ministry said.

The G-7 ministers exchanged views on the future of China after President Xi Jinping started an unprecedented third five-year term last month as general secretary of the Communist Party, following its weeklong, twice-a-decade party congress, according to the ministry.

As for North Korea, which has repeatedly test-fired ballistic missiles, including an apparent intercontinental ballistic missile on Thursday morning, the foreign ministers "strongly condemned" Pyongyang's actions.

In a session focusing on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, joined virtually by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, the ministers pledged to remain united against Moscow and support Kyiv ahead of the winter.

They condemned Russia for its attacks on Ukrainian civilian targets.

The G-7 states have imposed economic sanctions on Russia over its war in Ukraine, including the freezing of assets held by Russian President Vladimir Putin and the country's central bank.

Other punitive measures include a U.S. embargo on Russian oil imports and a phasing out of them by the European Union and Japan. The steps have contributed to a rise in global oil prices, with Russia one of the world's biggest oil producers.

On Friday, the G-7 ministers will discuss the situation in Iran, and other regional and international issues of concern before issuing a joint statement, according to a Japanese government official.

This year, the G-7 foreign ministers have held talks 10 times, including virtual meetings. They last met in September in New York on the fringes of the annual session of the U.N. General Assembly.

Japan will take over the rotating G-7 presidency from Germany next year.


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