Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky arrived in Hiroshima today to participate in the G7 summit which, he said, will allow him to “bring peace closer” to his country, and in his first hours on Japanese soil he met with several of the leaders of the major economies of the world.
The president arrived at around 3:30 p.m. local time (3:30 a.m. from Argentina) in a plane donated by France, a day after getting the United States to open the way to authorize the delivery of F-16 fighter planes, one of his claims. Kiev’s strongest forces to advance with the counteroffensive and retake Russian-occupied land.
“Japan. G7. Important meetings with Ukraine’s partners and friends. Security and greater cooperation for our victory. Today, peace will be closer,” Zelensky said on social media.
The visit gives him the opportunity to meet with the leaders of the seven most industrialized economies (the United States, Canada, Japan, France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy), who financially and militarily support their country in the face of the invasion that began in February 2022.
In his first hours in Hiroshima, Zelenski had brief meetings with the Prime Ministers of Japan, Fumio Kishida; from the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak, and from Italy, Giorgia Meloni, reported the Europa Press news agency.
The three meetings had as a common theme the development of the war in Ukraine and, in particular with Meloni and Sunak, Zelensky’s gratitude to European countries for their decision to train Ukrainian pilots in fourth-generation combat aircraft, including the F -16, with a view to the possible shipment to Kiev of these devices.
He also met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders since the start of the war.
“Narendra Modi held talks with President Zelenski during the G7 summit in Hiroshima,” the Indian Prime Minister’s office said on Twitter, without providing further details about the content of the meeting.
India communicated to Russia its concern about the conflict, but maintains its neutrality and has even deepened its relations with Moscow, from which it continues to buy military material and large quantities of crude oil, despite international sanctions.
The Ukrainian president will also meet with his American counterpart, Joe Biden, to discuss “the practical application” of the White House decision on F-16 fighter jets.
Biden “is impatient” to “meet face to face” with his Ukrainian counterpart during the summit, which began yesterday and will conclude on Sunday, said the US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, quoted by the AFP news agency.
Washington confirmed yesterday that it will support the training of Ukrainian pilots in these American-made combat planes, and said it was willing to authorize other countries to supply Kiev with these devices. A “historic” decision, Zelenski celebrated.
During the long months of training, the Western powers will decide the delivery schedule of the planes, their quantity and the countries that will supply them.
Britain will work with its allies to “provide Ukraine with the combat air capability it needs,” Sunak said in Japan, and French President Emmanuel Macron also expressed his willingness on Monday to train Ukrainian pilots.
Until now, kyiv’s allies, led by the United States, have resisted requests for these fighters, concerned about a possible escalation of the conflict.
Sullivan assured that the US doctrine “has not changed”, and that the F-16s are part of the equipment that Kiev will need “in the future” to “be able to deter and defend against all Russian aggression.”
Zelenski multiplied the meetings with foreign leaders in the last days, in search of military support to launch a counteroffensive in the territories occupied by Russia.
After a tour of several European countries, yesterday he made a stopover in Saudi Arabia to participate in an Arab League summit, where he reproached that “some” of the countries represented there “close their eyes” to the Russian invasion of their country.
Source: Ambito
