Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky upon arrival at Mihara Airport to attend the G7 Leaders’ Summit on August 20, 2023 in Hiroshima, Japan (/Yuichi YAMAZAKI)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky chained meetings with heads of state and government on Saturday upon his arrival at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, seeking in particular to persuade major emerging powers to raise their voices towards Moscow.
This surprise visit to Japan is the most distant trip of the Ukrainian president since the Russian invasion of his country fifteen months ago.
As soon as he arrived in Hiroshima aboard a plane from the French Republic, he multiplied bilateral meetings: with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the head of the Italian government Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz …
A meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron also took place. Mr. Zelensky’s presence at the G7 in Hiroshima “can be a game-changer” for Ukraine, Mr. Macron said on Saturday, in particular by allowing him to forge ties with the leaders of major emerging powers also present at the summit, such as those from India and Brazil.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, May 20, 2023 during a meeting on the sidelines of the G7 in Hiroshima (/Archives/Ludovic MARIN)
Mr Modi has already assured Mr Zelensky on Saturday that India will do “everything possible” to settle the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and that he “fully understands” his “suffering” and that of his people. Brazilian President Lula also wants to meet him in Hiroshima, according to a French source.
Mr Zelensky is also due to meet with US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
On the way to Japan, the Ukrainian leader stopped over in Saudi Arabia on Friday to plead Ukraine’s case at the Arab League summit.
– US green light for F-16s –
As of Friday, Mr. Zelensky obtained an important advance: Joe Biden overcame his reluctance by saying that he was now ready to authorize other allied countries to supply Ukraine with the fighter planes that Kiev had been demanding for a long time, F-16s. American made.
It is a “very significant” decision, because these planes equal or even surpass Russian fighters and should thus complicate Moscow’s air operations in Ukraine, according to Mick Ryan, military expert and former Australian army general interviewed by AFP .
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during a meeting on the sidelines of the G7 leaders summit on May 20, 2023 in Hiroshima, Japan (POOL/Stefan Rousseau)
The United States also now supports a joint initiative by its allies to train Ukrainian pilots. During these long months of training, Westerners will decide on the delivery schedule of the planes, their number and the countries that will provide them, said Jake Sullivan, Joe Biden’s national security adviser.
Family photo of G7 leaders and invited countries, May 20, 2023 in Hiroshima, Japan (POOL/Brendan SMIALOWSKI)
The G7 leaders also called on Beijing on Saturday to “pressure Russia to end its aggression” against Ukraine and “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw its troops”, while Beijing remains a close ally of Moscow. and never condemned the Russian invasion.
– Critics of Moscow and Beijing –
The head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, immediately accused the leaders of the G7 of wanting to “contain” both Russia and China.
Beijing also expressed its “strong dissatisfaction” after the publication of the final communiqué of the main industrialized democracies, addressing a series of criticisms.
The F-16 fighter plane (AFP/Valentin RAKOVSKY, Sophie RAMIS)
The leaders of the summit of Hiroshima, a city martyred by the first atomic bombing in 1945 and which has since become a world symbol of peace, indeed reaffirmed on Saturday their “opposition” to any Chinese “militarization” in Asia-Pacific, assuring that it there is “no legal basis” for the country’s “expansive maritime claims” in the South China Sea.
However, they assured that they wanted “constructive and stable” relations with Beijing and underlined “the importance of frank dialogue” with the Asian giant.
On Taiwan, they reiterated their call for a “peaceful resolution” of disputes with China, which considers this island as one of its provinces.
US President Joe Biden, May 20, 2023 during an interview on the sidelines of the G7 in Hiroshima (POOL / Kenny HOLSTON)
This declaration is the result of negotiations between countries such as the United States, who take a firmer stand against the background of growing tensions with China, and others, on the European side, who insist on avoiding any climate of “confrontation “.
The G7 countries (United States, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, United Kingdom, Canada) want to diversify their supply chains to be less dependent on Beijing in particular. They raised their voices against any attempt at “economic coercion”, targeting China without naming it.
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© 2023 AFP
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