G7 finance ministers on Thursday endorsed intensified pressure on Russia, including new sanctions, if it continues to resist efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine.
"If a ceasefire is not agreed to, we will continue to consider all possible options, including options to apply maximum pressure, such as sanctions," the ministers said in a final statement issued after their meeting in Canada.
Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have intensified in recent weeks, most notably in the first direct meeting between Russians and Ukrainians in more than three years, hosted in Istanbul last week.
However, the Kremlin announced on Thursday that there was "no agreement" yet on a second Russian-Ukrainian meeting, which, according to US press reports, could be held in the Vatican to discuss a possible ceasefire.
US President Donald Trump spoke by phone with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday with the stated goal of ending the "bloodshed," but was unable to persuade Moscow to make concessions.
The G7 ministers condemned "Russia's continued brutal war against Ukraine," stressing that any entity supporting Russia during the conflict would be barred from any contracts during Ukraine's reconstruction. They added, "We agreed to work with Ukraine to ensure that no country or entity, or entities from those countries that have funded... Russia's war machine, can benefit from Ukraine's reconstruction."
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