Joe Biden is “dying” to meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Japan
After US President Joe Biden on Friday paved the way for the delivery of fighter jets to support Ukraine against Russia, he is expected to meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy in person at the G7 summit taking place in Japan this weekend.
The President of the United States “can’t wait to meet him,” said his national security adviser Jake Sullivan, confirming a planned meeting between the two heads of state in Hiroshima. Mr. Zelenskyy is expected in the Japanese city from Saturday, where he will attend the final day of the summit of the seven main industrialized democracies on Sunday, in the presence of several invited major emerging powers, including India and Brazil. On Friday he made a stopover in Saudi Arabia to attend an Arab League summit.
“It is a very good and important thing that he went to the Arab League to have the opportunity to defend his case from a Ukrainian point of view for the world to support Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” said Jake Sullivan.
Shortly before the Ukrainian President’s arrival in Japan, Joe Biden overcame his longstanding reluctance by declaring that he was ready to allow other countries to supply Ukraine with whatever American-made F-16 fighter jets it wanted: a ” historic” decision hailed the Ukrainian President.
Jake Sullivan confirmed to the Hiroshima press that Washington is now supporting a joint initiative by its allies to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16s. During the course of this training, which is expected to last several months, the West will decide on the schedule for the delivery of the planes, their number and the countries that will provide them, he affirmed.
Joe Biden’s diplomatic adviser asserted that American doctrine “has not changed”. “Our approach to supplying Ukrainians with weapons, equipment and training followed the requirements of the conflict,” he explained. He believed that the F-16s were part of the equipment that Kiev would need “in the future” to “deter and defend against any Russian aggression” beyond the immediate needs related to counter-terrorism. The Ukrainian offensive was announced for several weeks by Ukraine.
The White House reiterated that the United States, through its military assistance, including in the form of fighter jets, “does not facilitate or support attacks on Russian soil.” “Ukrainians have repeatedly stated that they are ready to respect this position,” Mr. Sullivan assured.