LIVERPOOL, England -- The top diplomats for the world's wealthiest large democracies warned Russia on Sunday of "massive consequences" and "severe costs" should it invade Ukraine or continue military aggressions near its border.
The foreign ministers for the Group of 7 urged Russia to pull back from the tense border standoff and made clear that any effort to negotiate or otherwise avoid confrontation would be welcome.
[Video not showing up above? Click here to watch » arkansasonline.com/1213bidenputin/]
"Any use of force to change borders is strictly prohibited under international law," they said in a statement. "Russia should be in no doubt that further military aggression against Ukraine would have massive consequences and severe cost in response."
Their statement largely echoed earlier admonishments by Western officials over the past week after Russia massed as many as 100,000 troops on Ukraine's eastern, northern and southern borders.
Putin has laid out a set of Russian goals that seem impossible to meet, including a written NATO guarantee withdrawing a 2008 NATO pledge to take Ukraine and Georgia into the alliance at some point in the future -- a demand already rejected by Washington -- and a promise not to deploy weaponry to countries bordering Russia or to hold military drills within a certain distance from Russia.
Sunday's warning also included Japan among the countries now condemning Russia's military buildup, and it was issued separate from the ministers' summary of a host of issues discussed after two days of meetings in Liverpool, in northern England.
Officials have said that Russia's military could be prepared to invade Ukraine as soon as January, although there is no indication that Putin has made up his mind to do so.
Intelligence disclosed by the United States indicated that Russia's military had developed a war plan that envisioned as many as 175,000 troops pouring across Ukraine's border -- a force that Ukraine's military, despite U.S.-provided equipment and training, would have little ability to stop.
Putin has dismissed concerns about the troop buildup on Ukraine's border and instead has said that the United States and NATO are threatening Russia's security by supporting Ukraine's military with arms and training.
On Sunday, Putin's spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, said that the Kremlin was prepared to continue what he described as an already substantive conversation about "the confrontational situation that has now emerged in Europe around Ukraine," according to Russian news agency Interfax.
Meanwhile, Pope Francis offered prayers Sunday for Ukraine, and urged dialogue and not gunfire as Russia masses tens of thousands of troops on its border with Ukraine.
Francis didn't mention Russia by name in comments to the faithful during the traditional Sunday blessing in St. Peter's Square, but the implications seemed clear as he called for international dialogue to defuse the crisis.
The pontiff prayed for "dear Ukraine, for all its churches and religious communities and all of its people," and expressed hope that "tensions would be resolved through serious international dialogue and not through arms."
The Vatican has been loathe to criticize Russia over its Ukraine policies for fear of alienating the Russian Orthodox Church.
Francis said recently he was hoping to meet in the near future with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, following their historic 2016 encounter in Cuba.
Speaking to reporters as he returned from a trip to Greece and Cyprus, Francis said he planned to meet this week with the Russian church's foreign envoy "to agree on a possible meeting" with Kirill. The pontiff noted that Kirill is due to travel in the coming weeks, but Francis said he was also "ready to go to Moscow" even if diplomatic protocols weren't yet in place.
Information for this article was contributed by Lara Jakes of The New York Times and staff of The Associated Press.