UN chief calls on G7 to avoid re-creating Cold War dynamics

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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Saturday that the actions and decisions of the G7 nations risk dividing the world into two distinct blocks similar to those of the Cold War era, prompting the world to align either with the US or with China.

"I believe it is very important to avoid the division of the world into two, and it’s very important to create bridges for serious negotiation," he said.

The remarks were delivered to Japan’s Kyodo News as leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the US met in Hiroshima on Saturday to kick off the G7 meeting.

Guterres further called for "active dialogue and cooperation" between the G7 and China on matters pertaining to the climate and socioeconomic development. 

Read more: China and Russia MoF criticize decisions of G7 summit

The UN chief has several times over the past years issued warnings of an incoming Cold War between the West and China. 

In 2019, he coined the differing economic, political and military interests of both sides as the "great fracture."

Relations between the US and China have particularly reached an all-time low since the US made the provoking move of sending its former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan in August 2022. 

While Guterres called on the G7 to refrain from proceeding with such a route, Western leaders on the other hand made Russia and China the subjects of a joint statement on nuclear weapons on Friday - reinforcing the very division that Guterres is warning against. 

When developing countries fail, the world fails.

I’m in Hiroshima to urge #G7 countries to deliver financial justice for developing countries so they can invest in their people — education, health, decent jobs, gender equality. pic.twitter.com/1yOVfKXmLO

— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) May 20, 2023

According to the statement issued by the G7, Russia was accused of "irresponsible nuclear rhetoric" and "undermining of arms control regimes," while China's modernization of its nuclear arsenal was described as a "concern to global and regional security." 

Russia, on the other hand, outwardly condemned the UK for supplying depleted uranium ammunition to Ukrainian forces.

On Friday, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev stated that Russian forces struck a warehouse containing British-supplied depleted uranium shells in the city of Khmelnitsky last week, sending a "radioactive cloud towards Western Europe."

Read more: US uses G7 as ‘tool’ to maintain hegemony: DPRK FM