Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to Japan to personally attend the G7 (G7) summit in Hiroshima. He flew on a French government plane from Jeddah airport in Saudi Arabia, where he attended the Arab League summit on May 19.
“Japan. Important meetings with partners and friends of the G7. Ukraine. Security and increased cooperation for our victory. Today the world will come closer,” the president wrote on his Telegram channel.
Ukraine’s National Security Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said Zelensky’s personal presence was necessary as “very important” decisions were to be taken at the meeting. However, the president was originally supposed to speak via video link. According to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Zelensky “expressed a strong desire to personally attend the summit”and the country’s government accepted this offer.
Between the summit, US President Joe Biden may announce $375 million in military aid to Kiev – this may be after his meeting with Zelensky, according to Reuters and Politico sources.
Visiting schedule
The Ukrainian president is expected to attend the summit session dedicated to the conflict in Ukraine during his visit. It will take place on the morning of May 21. Citing the Japanese government, the Sankei newspaper writes that Zelensky will attend an extended meeting with the leaders of eight invited countries, including India and South Korea.
He will also hold a series of bilateral meetings, including with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Zelensky could also have a personal meeting with Biden.
Strana’s Ukrainian edition reports that Zelensky has already met with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The President of Ukraine said they “coordinated their positions before attending the summit”.
Citing sources, Bloomberg writes: The President of Ukraine especially wants to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It could happen on May 20.
They saw a ‘trap’ in Zelenskiy’s visit in Brazil
Bloomberg also writes that Zelensky offered his Brazilian counterpart, Lula da Silva, to meet on the sidelines of the summit.
According to Brazilian officials familiar with the matter, Zelenskiy formally requested a meeting with Lula, Lula has yet to respond.
The source of the broadcast among Brazilian officials states that the country’s president has no obstacles to negotiations with Zelenskiy, but that dialogue “should not be invited”. He also described the sudden presence of the Ukrainian president at the summit as a potential “trap” for non-G7 participants.
The Brazilian President has repeatedly spoken about military operations in Ukraine, made accusations against Western countries, and offered Kiev to leave Crimea. The White House commented on her words, saying that Silva “repeated Russian and Chinese propaganda while ignoring the facts.” Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the position of the Brazilian president as “incompatible with the real situation”.
What was agreed before at the summit
The G7 countries issued a joint final statement on May 20, one day before the end of the Hiroshima summit. It came out immediately after the arrival of the President of Ukraine in Japan.
In particular, the summit participants promised long-term military, financial, diplomatic and humanitarian support to Kiev. “We are taking new measures to ensure that Russia’s illegal aggression against Ukraine is defeated,” the G7 states said.
In the statement, the leaders of the G7 called on the Chinese authorities to “pressure Russia to immediately and completely withdraw its troops from Ukrainian territory without any additional conditions.” G7 countries also declared that they are ready to establish constructive relations with China.
In the statement, it was noted that the G7 countries, together with the international community, “provided Ukraine with the budgetary support it needed for 2023 and early 2024”.
Summit participants reiterated that the initiative to export grain from the territory of Ukraine is “extremely important”, but expressed their concerns about Russia’s actions in this regard.
The G7 summit in Hiroshima will take place May 19-21. Members of the “Group of Seven” participated – the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Japan. Delegations from Australia, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Cook Islands, the Union of the Comoros and South Korea will also attend the event.