Ukraine air defences, Iran-Israel conflict top agenda at G7 meeting

Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) wealthy industrialized democracies gathered on the Italian island of Capri on Thursday amid mounting risks of a broader regional conflict in the Middle East and calls for expanded support for Ukraine.

Further sanctions targeting Iran following attacks on Israel were among the issues discussed by the ministers, as were efforts to prevent further escalation and dissuading Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from launching a large-scale counter-attack.

Additional military aid for Ukraine, which has been battling against a full-scale Russian invasion for more than two years, is also expected to be a major topic at the two-day meeting.

The host of the meeting, Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, assured Israel of his support on behalf of all G7 countries: "We are friends of Israel. We support Israel."

The G7 also includes the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Japan. The European Union also takes part in the meetings.

At the same time, he urged both sides to de-escalate. It is feared that a major Israeli counter-attack could lead to a conflagration in the entire region, far beyond Israel's ongoing military offensive in the Gaza Strip that has been going on for six months.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called for a tougher stance against Tehran following the Iranian drone and missile attack on Israel, but has also warned against an expansion of the conflict.

"Iran must be isolated. And at the same time, there must be no further escalation," she said on Thursday on the sidelines of the meeting in Capri.

"Of course there must be a response to this unprecedented incident," but a further escalation would be "fatal for the people: in Israel, in the West Bank, in Lebanon, in the entire region," Baerbock said.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also joined the meeting in the afternoon.

Better air-defence support for Ukraine is expected to be on the table in the wake of massive Russian air attacks on Ukraine.

Ukraine's needs on that front are very urgent, Stoltenberg said, but added: "At the same time, I see some important encouraging signs when it comes to NATO Allies stepping up support for Ukraine."

Kuleba said he met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday and discussed in detail efforts to secure additional US-made Patriot air-defence systems and missiles as quickly as possible.

Baerbock said she planned to discuss further Patriot systems for Ukraine during her one-to-one meeting with Blinken.

Kuleba also appealed to US lawmakers to swiftly approve an additional Ukraine aid package, which has been blocked by the Republican opposition for months.

"In this moment, it is urgent that all of the friends and supporters of Ukraine maximize their efforts to provide ... Ukraine what it needs to continue to effectively defend itself against this Russian aggression," Blinken said in a statement on Thursday.

Blinken expressed hope that the US House of Representatives would vote to approve the $61 billion package on Saturday.

The European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, on Thursday also urged swift action to provide Ukraine with air defences, saying help is urgently needed to prevent Russia from destroying Ukraine's electricity infrastructure.

Borrell said that EU countries must not rely on the US, but demonstrate their own strength and take responsibility for arming Ukraine directly: "We have Patriots. We have anti-missile systems."

Borrell also urged strict implementation of sanctions on Iran for delivering drones to Russia. Russian forces have made extensive use of Iranian-made drones in attacks on Ukrainian cities.

The US and UK have already imposed fresh sanctions on Tehran, with the latest US sanctions targeting the Iranian drone programme as well as the steel industry and car manufacturers.

The EU could impose further sanctions on Iran next week.

The G7 foreign ministers' meeting, like all such major diplomatic summits, is taking place amid tight security. More than 1,300 police officers and other security forces are deployed on the island in the Gulf of Naples to protect the ministers.