The Latest: G7 rejects calls for sanctions on Russia

Foreign ministers and their staff sit at the table during a meeting of foreign ministers of the G7 in Lucca, Italy, Tuesday, April 11, 2017. Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized nations are expected to call for a new international push to end the war in Syria as they end a meeting in Italy Tuesday. (Riccardo Dalle Luche/ANSA via AP) (The Associated Press)

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From left: High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano, France Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Boris Johnson and Japanese Foreign Minister, Fumio Kishida, pose for the family photo during a meeting of foreign ministers of the G7 in Lucca, Italy, Tuesday, April 11, 2017. Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized nations are expected to call for a new international push to end the war in Syria as they end a meeting in Italy Tuesday. (Riccardo Dalle Luche/ANSA via AP) (The Associated Press)

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, left, and British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Boris Johnson sit at the table during a meeting of foreign ministers of the G7 in Lucca, Italy, Tuesday, April 11, 2017. Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized nations are expected to call for a new international push to end the war in Syria as they end a meeting in Italy Tuesday. (Riccardo Dalle Luche/ANSA via AP) (The Associated Press)

The Latest on the meeting of the foreign minister of the Group of Seven (all times local):

12:35 a.m.

Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano says Russia must not be "pushed into a corner" over Syria, as the Group of Seven ignored calls by Britain and the U.S. for new sanctions on Moscow over its support of President Bashar Assad.

Alfano says Russia should put pressure on Assad to stop the use of chemical weapons, and should join an international push for peace in Syria.

Ending a G-7 foreign ministers meeting, he says "we must have a dialogue with Russia."

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11:30 a.m.

Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized nations are expected to call Tuesday for a new international push to end the war in Syria, but are divided on whether to threaten new sanctions or other tough measures to pressure Russia over its support of President Bashar Assad.

The G-7 blames Assad's military for a deadly chemical attack last week. Ministers meeting in Lucca, central Italy, have strongly supported U.S. missile strikes that targeted a Syrian air base believed to have been used to launch the attack.

Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said the U.S. intervention had offered "a window of opportunity to construct a new positive condition for the political process in Syria."

But he said a political rather than military process was "the only solution," according to Italian news agency ANSA.

https://www.foxnews.com/world/the-latest-g7-rejects-calls-for-sanctions-on-russia