French Finance Minister says Strait of Hormuz must be opened, G7 ready to mitigate impact of war

French Finance Minister Roland Lescourt told reporters on Thursday that the Strait of Hormuz needs to be reopened “but at any cost”, adding that G7 leaders were ready to mitigate the economic fallout from the war.

After the United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran on February 28, the Middle East war broke out, and Tehran almost blocked the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation.

Since then, energy prices have soared and the strait has become an important waterway for oil and natural gas shipments.

The conflict, along with support for Ukraine and cooperation on critical minerals, are key topics discussed at the first face-to-face meeting of the Group of Seven advanced economies in Washington this year.

“We need to make sure we understand which way the balance of risks is tilting in the coming weeks,” Lescuer said on Thursday.

“We will meet again in Paris in a month and we want to make sure that we monitor the situation and assess the impact,” he added.

“If we need to take action, as we did a few weeks ago to release stockpiles, we will take action,” he said.

Lescoure spoke on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, which are being held in the U.S. capital this week and bring together finance ministers, central bankers and other leaders.

Last month, the International Energy Agency, which includes G7 countries, released a record amount of oil from its strategic reserves to ease market turmoil.

Lescure said the G7’s “general feeling is one of gravity” when it comes to war.

But he added of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz: “We need it to be open, but at any cost.”

His comments came as French President Emmanuel Macron held talks with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Paris on Friday over navigation through the Strait of Hormuz following a ceasefire.

“I don’t want to spend $1 to cross the Strait of Hormuz,” Leskull added.

“We value the fact that negotiations appear to be ongoing and I hope they will produce results,” he said.

-“collateral damage”-

The G7 also vowed to support Ukraine until next winter after Russia attacked Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, launched in 2022, has become Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.

“Russia should not benefit from what happens in Iran,” Leskull said, adding that Ukraine should not become “collateral damage” either.

The United States in March temporarily allowed the sale of Russian offshore oil, a move aimed at cushioning the impact of the Iran war on global supplies.

But U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant said on Wednesday that Washington would not extend the waivers that have expired.

French Bank of France Governor François Villeroy de Gallo added on Thursday that central banks would “not hesitate” to act to combat the economic impact of the war, but stressed that officials were in no rush.

In addition to France, which holds the rotating presidency of the G7, the group also includes the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Japan.

bys/MD

This article was generated from automated news agency feeds without modifications to the text.