Draghi, Kishida call for negotiated settlement to Ukraine conflict

ROME, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The leaders of Italy and Japan on Wednesday said they would push for a negotiated settlement to the Ukraine conflict.

Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi hosted his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, on Wednesday, as part of a series of bilateral meetings between the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) countries.

Following their meeting, Kishida said it was essential "for the international community, including the G7, to respond resolutely" to the Ukraine crisis.

The leaders also addressed the challenges related to global energy supplies, the slowdown of the global economy and the lingering impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

Draghi urged Kishida to speed up the processing of visas for Europeans visiting Japan to encourage tourism between Europe and Japan.

This year's Summit of G7, an intergovernmental political forum made up of the world's seven most industrialized economies, is scheduled for next month in Elmau, Germany.

The meeting between Draghi and Kishida took place only hours after the European Commission -- the European Union's executive arm -- proposed a new set of sanctions against Moscow, including a phase-out of oil imports from Russia over the next six months.

Oil and natural gas futures traded higher on Wednesday, with oil futures trading around 3.5 percent above Tuesday's close and natural gas around 5.3 percent higher.

Draghi thanked Japan for agreeing in February to redirect ships carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe as gas supplies for European countries tightened due to the Ukraine crisis.