G7 summit in Canada to see how EU, US align on Russia sanctions, says German official

A Group of Seven (G7) meeting in Canada will be about the extent to which the European Union and U.S. could align on sanctions against Russia, a German government official said on Thursday.

The EU this week proposed an 18th package of sanctions against Russia for its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, targeting Moscow's energy revenues, its banks and military industry.

The U.S. is also discussing a sanctions package, the German official said. "So in Canada, it will be a matter of seeing how far it is possible to achieve parallel movement."

It is unlikely that the U.S. Congress will pass its sanctions bill before the summit begins next week, he added.

While the G7 summit is a milestone as far as Ukraine is concerned, with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attending, no breakthrough in support for Kyiv against Moscow is likely to come from it, according to the German official.

The summit will be attended by U.S. President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, whose White House meeting with Trump earlier this month was widely seen as a success.

Keeping the United States engaged in negotiations between Russia and Ukraine is key, said the official, as well as moving the sanctions debate "a little bit further" in the right direction.

On continued military and financial support for Ukraine, the German official said realism was needed.

"If we maintain the status quo, that the Americans continue to provide certain very important services to Ukraine, then we are doing well," added the official.