Germany's Scholz calls for pragmatism as U.S. pushes Russia export bans

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday said his government wanted pragmatic measures to prevent the circumvention of sanctions imposed on Russia, appearing to temper U.S. calls for a more wide-ranging ban on exports. Scholz will attend a meeting of leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations in Japan this week to discuss plans to tighten sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine.

U.S. officials expect G7 members to agree to adjust their approach to sanctions so that, at least for certain categories of goods, all exports are automatically banned unless they are on a list of approved items.

"We're trying to promote good, pragmatic further development," Scholz said when asked about this on the sidelines of a Council of Europe meeting in Iceland. He hoped an agreement will be reached "without there being any major system changes".