Baerbock focuses on Ukraine, Sudan ahead of G7 meeting

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock vowed to "sharpen [the G7's] commitment" to Ukraine and called for a ceasefire in Sudan as she arrived in Japan on Sunday for a meeting of the Group of Seven leading industrialized democracies.

From Sunday until Tuesday, the politician is due to discuss with her counterparts how they should proceed in Russia's war in Ukraine as well as forming a common stance towards the increasingly assertive China. The fighting in Sudan and Iran's nuclear ambitions are also likely to be on the agenda.

Ahead of the meeting, Baerbock said the G7 will continue to resolutely oppose Russian aggression in Ukraine.

"Now it is a matter of showing [Russian President Vladimir] Putin our determination that he will not achieve his goals even through attrition and fatigue," Baerbock said in Seoul on Sunday before leaving for Japan for the meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Karuizawa near Nagano.

"As the G7, we are strong together because we know exactly what we stand for: For an international order in which the rule of law and international law take precedence over the law of the strongest," Baerbock said.

As a "crisis team in constant action," the G7 had countered Russia's aggression last year "one barrier after the other: with winter aid for the people in Ukraine, with the Russia sanctions and the oil price cap. With our support, Ukraine has withstood Russia's energy war and winter offensive," Baerbock said. "At the meeting in Japan, we will sharpen our commitment."

She added: "As democracies, we are successful in systemic competition with autocratic forces when our partners and friends around the world have confidence in us. We must avoid our unity being misunderstood by others as demarcation or that new rifts are torn open."

Baerbock also called for an end to the fighting in Sudan, where the ruling army and rival paramilitary unit have clashed since Saturday.

"Both sides must stop the fighting and prevent further bloodshed," she said on Twitter, adding she was "horrified by the many victims" and that developments were being closely monitored, especially with the situation of Germans on the ground.

"The people of Sudan have made it clear in recent years that they want a democratic future for their country," Baerbock wrote.

The transition to a civilian government remains crucial for the country's future, she added.

Before leaving South Korea, Baerbock met refugees from North Korea in Seoul and found out about living conditions in the isolated country.

Japan is the third and last leg of a six-day trip to Asia by the German foreign minister. After a two-day inaugural visit to China, she had been in South Korea since Saturday.

From Tokyo, Baerbock travelled with her G7 counterparts in a shinkansen express "bullet" train to the conference hotel in the holiday resort of Karuizawa, about 175 kilometres away.

In the evening, a working dinner on developments related to China and North Korea was on the agenda behind closed doors. Baerbock had been briefed on the situation at the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) between South and North Korea the day before, immediately after her arrival in South Korea.

The consultations in Karuizawa serve to prepare for the G7 summit next month in the Japanese city of Hiroshima, which German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is also scheduled to attend.

Besides Germany, the G7 includes France, Italy, Japan, Canada, the United States and Britain. Japan holds the G7 presidency this year.