Unsurprisingly, Vladimir Putin was at the heart of criticism and mockery on Sunday in Bavaria.

The leaders of the G7 countries, meeting in Germany on the first day of their annual summit, showed their determination to support Ukraine.

A family photo against a backdrop of peaks rising up against a radiant sky, a few steps in freshly cut meadows: the reunion of the club of the seven industrialized countries (Germany, United States, France, Canada, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom) provided their share of bucolic images.

But the leaders above all tackled without delay the priorities of this summit which is being held until Tuesday: the war in Ukraine, threats to food and energy security, the climate emergency, China.

Russian gold embargo

Anxious to send a strong signal of support to kyiv, US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced an embargo on Russian gold imports, even before the decision was formalized by the entire G7 .

This prohibition applies to newly mined gold in Russia, without targeting gold already sold.

The West has already taken several rounds of sanctions against Russia, whose war against Ukraine has entered its fifth month.

But the Ukrainian government is demanding more, after Russian strikes on kyiv on Sunday morning, an act of "barbarism" denounced by Joe Biden.

Faced with a risk of "fatigue" from the Western camp, mentioned by Boris Johnson, the American president launched a new call for the unity of the G7 and NATO.

Vladimir Putin hoped “that, one way or another, NATO and the G7 would split.

But we did not do it and we will not do it, ”assured the tenant of the White House.

Host of the summit, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also praised the unity of the allies, which "Putin did not expect".

The leaders also did not hesitate, during an informal exchange captured by the cameras, to make fun of the Russian president and his shirtless pose during a photo session in 2009.

Zelensky this Monday by videoconference

As Russian troops advance in the Donbass, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will intervene on Monday by videoconference.

This is a "critical moment for the evolution of the conflict", underlined Boris Johnson and Emmanuel Macron, according to a spokesperson for the British government.

They believe that it is "possible to reverse the course of the war".

The British Prime Minister however warned against any temptation of a negotiated solution “now” in Ukraine at the risk of prolonging “global instability”.

The conflict and its repercussions will again occupy a large part of the discussions on Monday with the first interviews devoted to the global economic turbulence.

The leaders of Indonesia, India, Senegal, South Africa and Argentina have moreover been invited to this summit as Westerners seek to broaden the front of the united democracies against the threat of a bloc formed by Russia and the China.

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