The G7 leaders reaffirmed their support for Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion “as long as it takes” and called for a greater decoupling of their economies from China’s in the declaration signed today at the summit in the Japanese city of Hiroshima, which recounted with the presence of the Ukrainian president, Volodomir Zelenski, and which generated repudiation in Moscow and Beijing.
The leaders of the seven most industrialized economies (the United States, Canada, Japan, France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy), which support Kiev financially and militarily, ratified that this support will be “for as long as it is necessary in the face of the war illegal”.
In this context, Zelensky had a hectic first day in Japan when he met with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the head of the Italian Government, Giorgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
He also spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the first face-to-face between these leaders since the start of the war and, therefore, one of the meetings that generated the most interest.
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.
After meeting with Zelensky, Modi assured today that his country will do “everything possible” to resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
“We reach out to as many countries and leaders as possible for the good of Ukraine. Defence. Long term support programs. Finance and economy. The first day in Hiroshima was very powerful. The second day will be even more so,” the tweeted. Ukrainian president at the end of the day, also referring to the meetings he will have with US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
In its statement, the G7 also urged China, a close ally of the Kremlin, to “put pressure on Russia to cease its aggression” and “immediately, fully and unconditionally withdraw its troops.”
The paragraphs dedicated to the Asian giant were longer, focused mainly on concerns about its economic and military activities.
“We do not intend to harm China or thwart its economic progress and development,” the group said, but added: “At the same time, we recognize that economic resilience requires risk reduction and diversification. We will take steps to invest in our own economic vitality.” We will reduce over-reliance on our critical supply chain.”
At the same time, they reaffirmed their “opposition” to any Chinese “militarization” in the Asia-Pacific region, saying there is no “legal basis” for China’s “expansive maritime claims.”
In addition, the statement reiterated that “peace and stability” in the Taiwan Strait is “essential” for world security, the AFP news agency reported.
But the G7 also sought to keep the door open for cooperation and prevent further escalation of tensions between the world’s second-largest economy: “We stand ready to build constructive and stable relations with China, recognizing the importance of frank engagement and express our concerns directly.
However, Beijing’s reaction was to repudiate the G7 declaration: “This group claims to be advancing towards a more stable, peaceful and prosperous world, but what it is actually doing is hindering international peace, damaging regional stability and suppressing the development of other countries.
Through a statement, the Chinese Foreign Ministry described the G7’s complaints as an “attempt to dirty and attack” the country, as well as “gross interference in the internal affairs” of the nation, the Europa Press news agency reported.
The head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, also went out to the crossing and accused the leaders meeting in Japan of wanting to “contain” Russia and China.
The Hiroshima declaration also talks about issues such as nuclear non-proliferation, regulation of artificial intelligence, food safety, energy and climate change, among other issues.
One of the paragraphs is focused on the relationship with Latin America and the Caribbean: “We highlight the importance of strengthening cooperation with countries to defend shared interests and values.”
“We reiterate our commitment to strengthen coordination with Latin American and Caribbean partners and other actors to promote the rule of law, respect for human rights and meet the high humanitarian and security needs in the region, especially in Venezuela, Haiti and Nicaragua. “, they stated.
The only representative of the region invited to Hiroshima is the president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who today met with Macron, Scholz, as well as the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, among other bilaterals.
Lula took advantage of the meeting to ensure that the external debt with the conditions imposed by the IMF “destroys” Argentina, and interceded in favor of the Government of Alberto Fernández before Georgieva, to whom he told that the Argentine economic situation is a key element in the “regional balance” of South America.
For tomorrow, the last day of the summit, the leader of the Workers’ Party (PT) is scheduled to meet with Biden in an appointment that will also have the war in Ukraine as an agenda, since Brazil is promoting a peace plan , a priori dismissed by the Western powers and Kiev.
The White House leader also plans to meet with Zelensky, following the US announcement to support the training of Ukrainian pilots in F-16 fighter jets that could be supplied to Kiev in the future.
Source: Ambito
