[JURIST] The Group of Seven (G7) [backgrounder] nations failed to reach an agreement on whether to impose new sanctions on Russia and Syria, Italian foreign minister Angelino Alfano announced Tuesday. Before the two-day meeting of the G7 ministers, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson [official website] had stated that he wanted to impose [BBC report] new sanctions in the wake of the alleged chemical weapons attack. The G7 met to solidify a unified approach to the Syrian situation before US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson [official profile] visits Moscow next week. However, the G7 meeting reached no such unified plan.

Last week, the UN Security Council conducted emergency talks regarding an alleged chemical attack in Syria that killed numerous civilians [JURIST report]. The next evening, the US military attacked [CNBC report] a Syria-government airfield with 59 Tomahawk missiles. Following the US missile launch, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for restraint [JURIST report] in handling the situation in Syria. Also last week, US Speaker of the House Paul Ryan called for [JURIST report] President Donald Trump to consult Congress on potential further action following a military strike on Syria.