Zelenskyy is looking for new diplomatic and military support
Volodymyr Zelenskyy must ask for renewed diplomatic and military support for Ukraine at the G7 summit in Japan on Sunday, from its allies but also from other countries that have so far refused to condemn the Russian invasion, such as India and Brazil.
The Ukrainian leader, who arrived in Hiroshima on Saturday for the G7 summit, is expected to deliver a speech on Sunday in this Japanese city, which fell victim to the first atomic bomb in history in 1945 and has since become a global symbol of peace.
Mr Zelenskyy has already spoken with his European allies at the G7 summit on Saturday: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and European Council President Charles Michel.
He also met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who promised India would do “everything possible” to resolve the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a bilateral meeting Sunday morning.
Zelenskyy could also meet in person on Sunday with Brazilian President Lula, who has so far been reluctant to condemn the Russian invasion, declaring last month that the United States must stop “sponsoring the war in Ukraine.”
The presence of Mr. Zelenskyy in Hiroshima is “very important”, especially for the “intensification” of Ukraine’s relations with the countries of the South, said Mr. Scholz during a press conference on Sunday. A larger coalition of countries for peace in Ukraine would underline that a settlement of this conflict cannot mean a “freeze” of the current situation on the ground, but that “Russia must withdraw its troops,” added the German Chancellor. “Russia should not bet that it will weaken support for Ukraine if it holds out long enough,” he warned.
Mr. Zelenskyy also has an appointment with US President Joe Biden in Hiroshima on Sunday early afternoon. Mr. Biden overcame his longstanding reluctance on Friday by saying he was ready to allow other countries to supply Kiev with the American-made F-16 fighter jets that Mr. Zelenskyy had long been demanding. A “historic” decision, the Ukrainian President immediately welcomed.