Elmau Palace (Germany) - (AFP) - The Group of Seven pledged continued support to Ukraine in the face of the Russian attack, in a statement issued by its meeting at Elmau Palace in Germany on Monday.

"We will continue to provide financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support to Ukraine and stand by it as long as necessary," the group said in a statement.

One of the main issues of the G7 summit, which runs until Tuesday, is to reaffirm Western unity and increase pressure on Russia as the war escalates in Ukraine and drives up energy and food prices around the world.

Also, the G7 asked Russia to allow grain shipments out of Ukraine to avoid exacerbating the global food crisis.

"We urgently call on Russia to stop its attacks on agricultural facilities and transport unconditionally and to allow the passage of grain shipments from Ukraine's ports on the Black Sea," she said.

The leaders also expressed their "deep concern" after Russia announced that it would send nuclear-capable missiles to Belarus, and demanded the "immediate" return of the Ukrainians who were "forcibly" transferred to Russia.

The heads of state and government gathered at Elmau Palace in the Bavarian Alps on Monday morning spoke via video link with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who urged them to "make every effort" to end the war in his country before the end of the year, according to sources inside the summit.

During his speech, the Ukrainian president spoke of the "severe winter" in Ukraine, "where the fighting gets harder."

The same sources indicated that Zelensky "also insisted on the need to tighten sanctions against Russia," noting the importance of "not easing pressure, and continuing to impose intensive sanctions on Russia."

Also, the Ukrainian president asked to increase pressure on Russia "by reducing the price of oil" that Moscow exports.

"For us, the firm position of the G7 on sanctions is important. They must be strengthened by reducing the price of oil exported by the aggressor," he wrote on Telegram.

For his part, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote on Twitter, "As the G7, we stand united by Ukraine and will continue to support it. Therefore, we have to take difficult but necessary measures," offering his thanks to Zelensky for his participation in the summit via video. "We will continue to increase pressure on Putin. This war must end," he added.

The French presidency, for its part, indicated on Monday that Zelensky had told the leaders of the Group of Seven that the time had not yet come to start negotiations with Russia, as Kiev was still seeking to strengthen its position.

France also called on oil-producing countries to increase their production "exceptionally" in order to limit the rise in prices due to the war in Ukraine.

And the French presidency announced on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit, "We need the producing countries to produce more oil in an exceptional way," calling also for "diversifying sources of supply," including Iran and Venezuela.