Berlin - (AFP) - Germany on Tuesday called on the major powers of the Group of Seven industrialized countries for more cooperation to reduce global energy prices , especially gas, which have hit record highs since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told the German Industries Forum, "We need a negotiating process through which prices can be reduced again to a reasonable level."

Schultz pointed out that the prices of fossil raw materials, gas, oil and electricity "have become too high for any economic production," stressing that "it cannot remain the same."

Germany, the first economy in Europe, suffers in particular from the rise in gas prices associated with the interruption of Russian supplies, especially since the strong German industrial sector was a major consumer of it.

Schulz admitted that lowering prices "will not succeed through unilateral measures taken by Germany or even the entire European Union," at a time when his country is being criticized by its European partners for its unilateral action to combat inflation.

"I have set myself the goal of making mutual responsibility a topic in all international discussions, for example during the discussions taking place today within the framework of the Group of Seven, and turning it into an issue within the framework of the European Union as well," he said.

The German chancellor considered it necessary to "organize cooperation between the (energy) importing countries, and this applies to Europe as well as to Japan and Korea."

Among the G7, Germany, France, Britain, Japan and Italy bear the brunt due to high prices, while the United States and Canada are major energy producers.

The United States has ramped up deliveries to Europe to help make up for the shortage of Russian gas, but Germany last week accused it of charging too high prices.

"Some countries, and even from friends, get ridiculous prices in some cases," German Economy Minister Robert Habeck told the Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung newspaper, calling for more "solidarity."

A virtual meeting of the Group of Seven is scheduled for Tuesday noon. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will take part in the meeting, at a time when Russia is launching a bombing campaign in Ukraine.