HIROSHIMA: With a show of force supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the United States and other wealthy democracies will conclude a Group of Seven meeting on Sunday that has been focused on undermining Russia and managing China.
Zelensky will be greeted with a hero’s welcome on the final day of the G7 meeting, which is being held in Hiroshima, Japan. Leaders discussed how to handle a war that has been raging for almost 15 months and many believe will only get worse.
Western nations made fresh sanctions on Moscow public during the event and pledged to continue funding the conflict with further weapons and financial support.
However, they intended to direct their rhetorical fire primarily at China, Russia’s strongest ally in Asia, sending a subliminal message to Chinese President Xi Jinping that any attempts to intimidate them or alter the status quo in Taiwan, a self-governing island, or the contentious South China Sea would be met with the same resolve as Russia’s attempt to redraw Ukraine’s borders.
“A growing China that plays by international rules would be of global interest,” the leaders said in a communiqué that contained some of their harshest criticisms of Beijing ever as a group.
Two of China’s richest neighbours, Japan and South Korea, will meet together on Sunday to emphasise their strengthened relations.
Zelensky will give leaders a briefing on what Kyiv needs for a stepped-up spring onslaught against Moscow, which he has said will set the stage for a peace settlement.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian mercenary organisation, said on Saturday that his Wagner troops had finished taking Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, but Kyiv refuted the assertion and asserted that combat was still going on there. The longest and bloodiest struggle of Russia’s conflict in Ukraine has been centred around Bakhmut.
As additional sanctions against Russia were announced, US President Joe Biden authorised for the first time the training of Ukrainian pilots on the F-16 combat plane.
Biden also plans to announce a $375 million military aid package for Ukraine in Japan, according to a US official. The officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that the cargo will include artillery, ammo, and HIMARS rocket launchers.
Zelenskiy, however, has compelled the nations to take more aggressive military and economic actions.
As soon as he arrived in Hiroshima, Zelenskiy said on Twitter, “Important meetings with partners and friends of Ukraine.” “Security and improved teamwork are essential to our success. Today will bring closer peace.
Flight drama
Zelenskiy’s convoluted, 9,000 km (5,600 mile) flight from Saudi Arabia aboard a French jet while avoiding Russian airspace added drama to a formal diplomatic meeting since Japan had requested his presence personally.
Zelenskiy exited a French government plane on Saturday afternoon while donning his regular olive green fatigues, according to footage from Japanese media. He then quickly made his way to a waiting car.
Zelenskiy has already received a warm welcome in talks with leaders including British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the course of only a few short hours on Saturday.
Zelenskiy is scheduled to meet with all of the G7 nations on Sunday, including the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Canada, before holding a larger meeting with additional invited nations.
Brazil and India were among the “Global South” nations asked to assist in fostering connections with nations that have tried to avoid taking dangerous positions in the dispute between powerful nations like the United States and China or sought cordial relationships with Russia.
