Volodymyr Zelenskyy is campaigning for support beyond his western allies in a sensational appearance at this weekend’s G7 summit, taking on the leaders of India and Brazil after they decided not to support sanctions against Russia.
The Ukrainian president’s first visit to Asia since the start of the war saw him face-to-face with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and he will also meet Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – leaders of two key developing countries who have been trying to assert themselves close ties with Moscow despite the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The two also sneak in about who is responsible for the conflict. Kyiv is preparing a counter-offensive.
Following his also unexpected decision to attend an Arab League meeting in Saudi Arabia on Friday en route to Hiroshima, Zelenskyy’s appearance at the G7 will test his efforts to expand his support coalition beyond NATO and US allies .
Brendan Boyle, a Democrat congressman and co-chair of the EU group in the House of Representatives, said Zelenskyy’s attendance was a “unique opportunity” for him to put peer pressure on Modi and Lula in the presence of G7 leaders.
“It’s one thing for Modi or Lula to ignore Zelensky at home,” Boyle said. “But it’s another thing to ignore him when you’re standing next to the President of the United States.”
Zelensky’s surprise move to fly to Saudi Arabia and then Japan was kept secret until Friday for security reasons, but in the weeks leading up to the event all attendees agreed, officials said. He arrived in Japan on Saturday.
Vladimir Putin, right, speaks with Modi at a summit in Uzbekistan in September © Alexandr Demyanchuk/Sputnik/Kremlin/Pool/AP
India and Brazil, two of the world’s most powerful developing countries, have not supported sanctions against Russia and maintain close political and trade ties with Moscow, which is a Brics group partner alongside South Africa and China.
The two countries have taken no steps comparable to China’s political support for Moscow or South Africa’s alleged role in supplying arms to Russia.
But moves such as India’s role in processing Russian crude and diamonds and Brazil’s refusal to sell ammunition to Germany on the grounds that it could help Ukraine have angered Western partners.
New Delhi abstained in a UN vote in February calling on Russia to end its invasion, and rising thirst for Russian oil over the past year helped Moscow’s crude oil exports last month hit a peak since achieved invasion.
While Brazil backed the February UN resolution, Lula has been accused of fueling Russian propaganda, claiming that both Kiev and Moscow are to blame for the conflict and that Ukraine “does not want to end” the war.
Zelenskyy’s opportunity to speak directly with Modi, Lula and other guests from developing countries is “the best way to explain why he’s coming, since he’s already met with all G7 leaders,” said a senior G7 diplomat. “It is part of our joint public relations work [to developing countries] and is a big step for Zelenskyy.”
“The Japanese would not simply move on without thorough consultation and extensive preparation,” added the senior diplomat.
François Heisbourg, advisor to the Paris-based think tank Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique, said: “The rationale is to continue what investors would call a roadshow. Being able to look Lula and Modi in the eye is a huge bonus.”
“He was with the various [western] capitals, and now he will see those he has not yet met. He shapes the political battlefield,” added Heisbourg.
Zelenskyy is expected to attend two separate sessions on Sunday – one exclusively with G7 members and the second with Modi, Lula and other guests including Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo. Russia, which was a member of the G8 before its expulsion over the annexation of Crimea, was not invited to the Hiroshima summit.
For host country Japan, the meeting was seen as a seven-yearly opportunity to draw the attention of its Western allies to the threats posed by China’s military and economic ambitions.
Paul Haenle, a former top China White House official, said Beijing would not welcome a move by the G7 to use Zelensky’s participation to link security issues in Europe and the Indo-Pacific.
“The biggest concern [for China] “That would be if the G7 used Zelenskyy’s presence to make a connection to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the risk of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan,” said Haenle, now director of Carnegie China, a think tank.
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Zelenskyy’s visit risks focusing the G7 agenda on Ukraine, but Tokyo officials also say it offers a rare opportunity to meet key participants in the Indo-Pacific – including Australia, South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam and India – along with the bring Ukraine together.
“There is hope that this will increase understanding of Ukraine’s situation in the Global South,” said a Japanese government official.
Hideaki Shinoda, a professor at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, said Zelensky’s presence at an event attended by Indo-Pacific leaders could reinforce Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s message that security in Europe and the Indo-Pacific are “inextricably linked.” ” may be.
Richard McGregor, an Asia expert at the Lowy Institute think tank, said Zelenskyy’s appearance would serve as a “symbol of unity” against Russia, but added that the presence of Modi and Lula was “an unpleasant reminder” that there are borders and unity over Ukraine.
Noting that Tokyo has been reluctant to criticize Russia in the past, he added: “The most gratifying part of this limited display of unity is that it comes at the invitation of Japan.”