Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Japan on Saturday for a diplomatic summit with the leaders of the world’s most powerful democracies, an appearance seeking to command global attention as his allies intensify pressure on Russia over the invasion. started 15 months ago.
Japan said Zelenskyy’s decision to visit Hiroshima was due to his “strong desire” to participate in talks that will influence his country’s defense against Moscow.
“Japan, G-7, important meetings with partners and friends from Ukraine. Security and reinforced cooperation for our victory. Peace will be closer today,” Zelenskyy tweeted as he arrived in Hiroshima on a plane provided by France.
A European Union official, speaking on condition of anonymity to brief reporters on the deliberations, explained that Zelenskyy will participate in two separate sessions on Sunday.
The first will be solely with members of the G-7 and will focus on the war in Ukraine, while the other will be attended by the other nations invited to the summit and will address “peace and stability.” US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said President Joe Biden and Zelenskyy will maintain direct contact during the summit.
The confirmation of Zelenskyy’s in-person attendance came as the G-7 has unveiled a new round of sanctions against Moscow, as well as other plans to make existing financial restrictions more effective in undermining Russian President Vladimir’s war capacity. Putin.
Russia is the most penalized country in the world, but the effectiveness of the penalties raises doubts.
“Our support for Ukraine will not waver,” assured the leaders of the G-7 in a statement following a closed-door meeting on Friday. In addition, they said that they will remain “united against the illegal, unjustifiable and unprovoked aggression of Russia against Ukraine.
“Russia started this war and can end it,” the note added.
Agreement on Ukrainian aircraft
The president’s visit comes hours after Washington agreed to allow training in its powerful F-16 fighter jets, laying the groundwork for possible the dispatch of fighters, and train Ukrainian pilots to fly them, the White House said Friday.
In a statement provided to the VOAa senior Biden administration official said Friday that the president briefed G-7 leaders that the United States will support a joint effort with allies and partners to train Ukrainian pilots on fourth-generation fighter jets, including the F- 16, to further strengthen and improve the capabilities of the Ukrainian air force.
The Russian Deputy Minister of Defense, Alexander Grushko, accused Western countries of “continuing on the path of escalation”, after the announcements that raise the possible supply of F-16 fighters to kyiv.
Zelenskyy, who has repeatedly called for Western fighter jets to bolster the country’s defense, welcomed Biden’s decision.
Chinese economic duress
World leaders have had to do a balancing act at the summit to address a number of global concerns, including: the war in Ukraine. China, the world’s second largest economy, is the nexus between many of these issues.
The measures will be announced later on Saturday to respond to what the group calls China’s “economic coercion” — the use of punitive trade practices to coerce countries over political disputes.
“These economic security tools will include steps to build resilience in our supply chains. They will also include measures to protect sensitive technology, such as export controls and outward investment measures,” Sullivan said at the same briefing.
G-7 members are “seeking to derisk, not disengage from China,” Sullivan said, referring to efforts to limit reliance on and vulnerability to Beijing.
The G-7 also explained on Saturday that it does not want to harm China and that it seeks “constructive and stable relations” with Beijing, “recognizing the importance of frank dialogue and expressing our concerns directly to China.”
In addition, he urged the country to put pressure on Russia to end the war and “support a global, just and lasting peace.”
The G-7 declaration in Hiroshima shows a growing alignment of members on how to deal with Beijing, beginning with the group’s 2021 summit in Cornwall, UK, when China was first mentioned. At the 2022 G-7 summit in Elmau, Germany, the plan was relaunched as the Partnership for Global Investment and Infrastructure.
[Con la colaboración de Patsy Widakuswara, de la VOA, desde Hisorshima, e información de AP]
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