Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Japan on Saturday to attend a G7 summit, whose leaders called on China to “pressure Russia to end its aggression” against Ukraine.
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Mr. Zelensky, who landed in Hiroshima at the start of the afternoon on board a plane from the French Republic, immediately estimated on Twitter that peace would be “closer” following this summit, after having stalled the day before the American green light for a future delivery of American F-16 fighter planes that he has been asking for a long time.
The Ukrainian head of state is trying to widen the circle of support for the country invaded fifteen months ago by Moscow: at the G7, he will be able to meet the leaders of the seven most industrialized democracies, who are already his allies, but also of other non-aligned guest countries such as Brazil and India.
He was from Saudi Arabia, where he pleaded Ukraine’s cause at the Arab League summit on Friday before “certain” countries which he said “turn a blind eye” to the conflict.
In Hiroshima, devastated by an American atomic bomb in 1945, the leaders on Saturday called on China to “pressure Russia to cease its aggression” against Ukraine and “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw its troops”. , while Beijing remains a close ally of Moscow and has never condemned the Russian invasion.
In particular, the Ukrainian president must meet in the Japanese city with his American counterpart Joe Biden to discuss the practical implementation of the American decision to authorize future deliveries of combat aircraft to Kiev.
Bilateral meetings are also scheduled with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Washington said on Friday that Mr. Biden had overcome his reluctance, saying he was ready to allow other countries to supply Kyiv with the fighter jets he wants, American-made F-16s. A “historic” decision, welcomed the Ukrainian president.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan also confirmed that the United States now supports a joint initiative by its allies to train Ukrainian pilots. During these long months of training, Westerners will decide on the schedule for the delivery of planes, their number and the countries that will provide them.
The United Kingdom said it was ready to work with its allies to “bring Ukraine the air combat capability it needs”, and Emmanuel Macron also said he was ready on Monday to provide training for Ukrainian pilots, the outlines of which still need to be clarified.
While his country is preparing a major counter-offensive against Moscow, Volodymyr Zelensky has just returned from a tour of Europe where he had again requested these fighters.
But so far, the West, led by the United States, has resisted these demands, citing the risk of escalating the conflict, and claiming that this is not a priority.
Mr. Sullivan assured that the American doctrine had “not changed”. The delivery of weapons “followed the requirements of the conflict”, he pleaded, believing that the F-16s were part of the equipment that Kiev will need “in the future” to “be able to deter and to defend against any Russian aggression”.
The leaders of the Hiroshima summit also reaffirmed on Saturday their “opposition” to any Chinese “militarization” in Asia-Pacific, assuring that there is “no legal basis” for the country’s “expansive maritime claims” at sea. from South China.
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.
This declaration is the result of negotiations between countries like the United States, who take a firmer stand against the backdrop 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, however, going so far as to name it.