Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky landed in Hiroshima on Saturday for diplomatic talks with the leaders of the world’s strongest democracies, who tightened sanctions to punish Moscow and alter the course of its 15-month invasion of Ukraine.
Japan says Zelensky’s decision to go to Hiroshima stems from his “strong desire” to participate in talks that can affect his nation’s defense against Russia.
An EU official, chatting with reporters on condition of anonymity in regards to the deliberations, said Zelensky would attend two separate sessions on Sunday. The primary session can be with G7 members only and can deal with the war in Ukraine. The second session will include the G7 as well as other nations invited to attend the summit and can deal with “peace and stability”.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that President Joe Biden and Zelensky can be directly involved in the summit. On Friday, Biden announced his support for training Ukrainian pilots on U.S.-made F-16 fighters, a precursor to the eventual delivery of those planes to the Ukrainian Air Force.
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World leaders faced the challenge of balance on the G7 summit in Hiroshima as they sought to deal with a variety of worldwide concerns requiring urgent attention, including climate change, artificial intelligence, poverty and economic instability, nuclear proliferation and most notably the war in Ukraine.
China, the world’s second economy, is at the middle of a lot of these problems.
Concern is growing in Asia that Beijing, which has been consistently constructing its nuclear program, may attempt to seize Taiwan by force, sparking a wider conflict. China claims the autonomous island as its own and commonly sends ships and warplanes to its vicinity.
G7 leaders issued an announcement warning that “China’s accelerating nuclear buildup without transparency (or) meaningful dialogue is a threat to global and regional stability.”
![President Joe Biden (centre-left), French President Emmanuel Macron (second left), German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (centre-right) and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (second right) walk to take part in a family photo with G7 leaders before a working lunch.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/Zelensky-4.jpg?w=1024)
“We are attempting to work with China on problems with common interest,” Sullivan said of the statement. “We are going to work to deal with our serious concerns about China in many areas.”
North Korea, which is testing missiles at a breakneck pace in an try and perfect its nuclear program against the continental United States, must completely abandon its atomic bomb ambitions, the leadership statement said, “including any further nuclear tests or launches that use missile technology.” ballistic. North Korea cannot and never may have the status of a nuclear-weapons state under “international nuclear treaties.”
The green light for F-16 training is the Biden administration’s latest move to arm Ukraine with more advanced and deadly weapons, following earlier decisions to send Abrams missile launch systems and tanks. The US insisted on sending weapons to Ukraine to defend itself and discouraged Ukraine from attacking Russian territory.
![Photo of G7 leaders before a working lunch on economic security during the G7 Summit at the Grand Prince Hotel in Hiroshima, western Japan on Saturday, May 20, 2023.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/Zelensky-5.jpg?w=1024)
“We have reached some extent where it is time to look ahead again and say what Ukraine will need as a part of its future forces to give you the option to discourage and defend against Russian aggression,” Sullivan said. .
G7 leaders have introduced a recent wave of worldwide sanctions against Moscow and in addition plan to extend the effectiveness of existing financial penalties designed to curb President Vladimir Putin’s war effort. Russia is currently essentially the most sanctioned country in the world, but there are questions on effectiveness.
“Our support for Ukraine won’t wane,” G7 leaders said in an announcement released after the closed-door meetings. They vowed to “stand together against Russia’s illegal, unjustified and unprovoked aggression against Ukraine.”
“Russia began this war and it could actually end it,” they said.
Zelensky has consistently called on Western fighters to strengthen his country’s defenses. As Ukraine has upgraded its air defenses with a number of Western-supplied anti-aircraft systems and is preparing to launch a counter-offensive against Russia, officials imagine jets could turn into essential to the country’s long-term security.
Biden told leaders that Biden’s decisions on when, how much, and who will deliver the fourth-generation F-16 fighter jets can be made in the approaching months while training is ongoing.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held separate talks on Saturday with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will host the G20 meeting of world leaders this 12 months. Through the meeting, Kishida stressed that attempts at change by force shouldn’t be tolerated anywhere in the world – a possible reference to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and a warning to China about Taiwan.
India, the world’s largest democracy, has been measured in its comments on the war in Ukraine and has avoided outright condemnation of the Russian invasion. While India maintains close ties with the US and its Western allies, additionally it is a significant buyer of Russian arms and oil.
![Zelensky, second from right, is greeted by Prince Badr Bin Sultan, deputy governor of Mecca, right, upon arrival at Jeddah Airport in Saudi Arabia, Friday, May 19, 2023. The Japanese government officially announced Saturday that Zelensky is visiting Japan to join Groups of Seven leaders at the Sunday session dedicated to Ukraine.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/Zele.jpg?w=1024)
The most recent sanctions against Russia include tougher restrictions on already sanctioned individuals and corporations engaged in warfare. Greater than 125 individuals and organizations in 20 countries have been affected by US sanctions.
As well as, recent reporting requirements have been issued for individuals and corporations which have an interest in the assets of the Russian Central Bank. The goal is to “fully map the stockpile of Russia’s sovereign assets that can remain immobile in G7 jurisdictions until Russia pays for the damage caused to Ukraine,” the US Treasury Department said.
The G7 states said they’d work to stop Russia from using the international economic system to wage war, and called on other nations to stop supplying Russia with support and weapons “or incur serious costs.”
![Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (left) and French President Emmanuel Macron take part in a family photo with G7 leaders](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/Justin-from-Canada.jpg?w=1024)
The leaders began the summit with a visit to the peace park dedicated to the tens of hundreds of victims of the world’s first atomic bomb detonation through the war. Kishida, who represents Hiroshima in parliament, wants nuclear disarmament to be the foremost topic of dialogue.
Biden, who had scrapped plans to travel to Papua Latest Guinea and Australia after being in Japan so he could get back to debt limit talks in Washington, made an appointment Saturday on the sidelines of the G-7 with leaders of the so-called partnership, consisting of Japan, Australia, India and the US.
G7 leaders are also expected to debate efforts to strengthen the worldwide economy and address rising prices which are straining families and government budgets across the world, especially in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
A US official said leaders on Saturday will issue a joint communiqué outlining recent projects as a part of the G7’s global infrastructure development initiative, which is predicted to supply countries an alternative choice to Chinese investment dollars.
The G7 includes Japan, the US, the UK, France, Germany, Canada and Italy, as well as the European Union.