Initially, President Volodymyr Zelenskyj was to speak to the G7 countries via video link. On Saturday he himself arrived in Hiroshima, the city in Japan where an atomic bomb was first used in war. – We are closer to peace today, the president wrote in a tweet and called it an important meeting for friends and partners of Ukraine. The visit is probably heavily symbolic for a leader at war, who has himself been exposed to nuclear threats from the invading power Russia. Hiroshima is also the hometown of Japan’s Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, and this is the city from which he was elected. Therefore, it probably means a lot that Zelenskyj comes in person. The heads of state gathered for a “family photo” on the first day of the summit, Friday 19 May. Photo: Stefan Rousseau / AP But the actual reason for the visit is probably something else. Zelenskyj has recently attended several international summits, such as the Nordic one in Helsinki and the Arab one in Jeddah. The countries he will now be talking to are not only among the largest arms producers in the world. Several of them are also the world’s largest contributors to Ukraine’s defence. The group has also recently hit what they call Russia’s “war machine” with additional sanctions, writes AFP. F-16 fighter jets During the first day of the G7 meeting, Joe Biden told the other heads of state that Washington would support the training of Ukrainian pilots in F-16 fighter jets. This is according to a spokesperson for Det kvite huset. – Since this training will take place over the next few months, the coalition of countries taking part in this effort will decide when they will actually contribute fighter jets, how many we will send, and who will send them, the president is said to have said. “Very soon, Ukraine will get everything it needs to defend our airspace, our cities and our citizens,” Zelenskyj’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said in a TV broadcast on Friday. American F-16s were shown in March during a NATO event in Poland. Photo: LUKASZ GLOWALA / Reuters The G7 has, as the name suggests, 7 member countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Great Britain and the United States. Several of these are among the largest arms manufacturers in the world. Among them are the world’s largest contributors to Ukraine’s defence. An important arms producer is South Korea, which today supplies tanks to Poland and could become an important supplier of ammunition to Ukraine. As for the organizer Japan, the pacifist constitution prevents the country from contributing arms support. But Kishida wishes to change this, so that Japan can play a greater role in insurance policy abroad in the future. These are the ten most important weapons for Ukraine Long-term financial support The fact that Zelenskyj is coming to the meeting in person strengthens expectations that the G7 countries and the EU can increase the support to Ukraine. Friis is in Nupi’s security and defense research group. Photo: Øyvind Bye Skille / news – Meeting people face to face is always stronger than when you meet via a video screen. His main job is to keep the support from Western countries, or the world, going for his defense fight, says Karsten Friis, senior researcher at the Norwegian Foreign Policy Institute (Nupi). – It’s about two things, I think: In the short term, getting a solution to the F16 donation, which is underway but has not quite arrived yet, and the other is long-term security guarantees, in the long term, and of course financial guarantees in the future. A Leopard 2 tank during an exercise in Germany. The country is preparing a new arms package for Ukraine worth over NOK 31 billion. Photo: INA FASSBENDER / AFP It is unusual to talk about insurance policy at an economic forum such as the G7, adds Friis. – But there is something about having to take a somewhat strategic and long-term view of what we are actually doing here. – The war is devastating for all of us. Therefore, one must both ensure that Ukraine wins, and that it will be stable afterwards. Because while the G7 cannot provide insurance guarantees, countries can, for example, promise long-term support to rebuild the country when the war is over. This is something Friis believes Zelenskyj will try to achieve. A united front against nuclear threats? It is heavy symbolism that Zelenskyj comes to Hiroshima. Several times since the start of the war, Vladimir Putin has threatened to use nuclear weapons, to strong reactions from both Ukraine and Western powers. In South Korea there was a demonstration on Friday against the release of radioactive water from the Fukushima power plant. These three are wearing (from left) masks of the heads of state of Japan, the USA and South Korea. Photo: Lee Jin-man / AP The leaders of the G7 countries declared to the world on Friday that they were “committed to achieving a world without nuclear weapons, with balanced security for all”. They will achieve this through a “realistic, pragmatic and responsible approach” to the challenge, it says. Sunday is the last day of the summit. A longer version of this statement is expected to come later in the day, when the leaders have concluded, according to Reuters. Request for support from the Arab League Zelenskyj was also present at the summit of the Arab League on Friday, which took place in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. There he urged the heads of state present to support the peace plan his government has put forward. – Elsewhere, there are some in the world, and also here among divers, who turn a blind eye to the illegal annexations, he said according to AFP. Among the talking points were also “political prisoners in Crimea and other temporarily occupied territory” and “energy cooperation”, according to Zelenskyj himself. This photo has been sent out by the state news agency in Saudi Arabia, and shows Zelenskyi together with the welcoming committee on Friday. Photo: – / AFP The Gulf states cooperate with Russia on several levels and have so far remained neutral in the Ukraine war. But Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, who in practice rules Saudi Arabia, said on Friday that he is ready to mediate between the countries. Zelenskyj may also meet Bashar al-Assad, the president of Syria, who was welcomed at the Arab summit after eleven years out in the cold. Syria and Russia have long been close allies. Assad depended on Russia and Iran to put down the rebellion and stay in power.
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Zelenskyj at the G7 summit in Japan – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
