G7 says won’t recognise Russian annexation of Ukraine regions

In a joint statement, issued by the G7 foreign ministers said, “We will never recognise these alleged annexations by Russia, nor the bogus referendums conducted at gunpoint.

Russia on Friday annexed four territories in Ukraine controlled by army at a ceremony in the Kremlin and urged Kyiv to lay down its arms and negotiate an end to seven months of fighting.

The ceremony at the Kremlin came hours after shelling killed 25 people in Ukraine’s southern region of Zaporizhzhia.

“I want to say this to the Kyiv regime and its masters in the West: People living in Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia are becoming our citizens forever,” Putin said.

“We call on the Kyiv regime to immediately stop fighting and stop all hostilities… and return to the negotiating table,” he added.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday warned that he would not negotiate with Russia as long as President Vladimir Putin is in power.

“Ukraine will not hold any negotiations with Russia as long as Putin is the president of the Russian Federation. We will negotiate with the new president,” he said, after Putin annexed four Moscow-occupied Ukrainian regions.

President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday said that Kyiv is requesting fast-track NATO membership after Russia formally annexed four Moscow-held regions of Ukraine.