Ukraine leads agenda as G-7 ministers gather sans Pompeo

Bloomberg

The latest Group of Seven (G7) meetings have begun with a focus on Russia’s actions in Ukraine, an issue Canada’s foreign minister knows well.
Chrystia Freeland, a lawmaker of Ukrainian descent who is banned from Russia, kicked off the meeting of foreign ministers by hosting them for brunch — waffles, eggs, a cake, served by her children in her Toronto home — along with Ukraine’s foreign minister. Freeland, who speaks Ukrainian, is an avowed critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The issue was one of several being discussed by counterparts including the UK’s Boris Johnson, Germany’s Heiko Maas and Japan’s Taro Kono. The meetings are being held with a notable exception — incoming US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has not yet been confirmed, so the US was represented by a deputy, John Sullivan.
“We’ve had excellent conversations on Russia, on Ukraine, we’ve spoken somewhat about China,” Freeland said in brief remarks when reporters were brought into the room. “And we are now about to dive into conversations about Syria, North Korea, Myanmar, Venezuela, among other issues.”

US Supports Ukraine
The meeting came as US President Donald Trump tempered optimism on the situation in North Korea, saying on Twitter that “ only time will tell.” Sullivan met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin in Toronto, and “reaffirmed the US support for the sovereignty and integrity of Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression,” according to a statement from the US State Department.
Freeland also held a meeting with female foreign ministers from non-G7 countries — TV cameras captured her riding her bicycle there from the brunch — and announced Canada would host the world’s female foreign ministers for a conference in September.
Sullivan and Freeland were scheduled to speak publicly on Monday. The G-7 meeting runs until Tuesday and will also include security ministers. The G-7 leaders’ summit is scheduled to be held in June in Quebec.

US sanctioning Russian oligarchs spurs cash exodus from Latvia
Bloomberg

US sanctions targeting Russian billionaires have sparked a further exodus of cash from Latvia, a Baltic nation whose banking system has already been shaken by a string of money-laundering scandals.
The measures against businessmen, companies and senior officials were taken days after President Donald Trump expelled 60 Russian diplomats for the nerve-agent attack on a former Russian spy in the UK.
The penalties prompted lenders in Latvia to end relationships with the sanctioned people and entities, according to the head of the local regulator.
“There were a number of subjects from those mentioned on the list,” Peters Putnins, director of the Financial and Capital Market Commission, said. He declined to provide names. The US sanctions have pounded the business interests of billionaires including aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska, whose United Co. Rusal has lost about
60 percent of its value since the announcement.