Zelensky Gets More Military Support at G7, Russia Criticizes “Propaganda Show
(RFI) At the end of the G7 summit in Japan, the French press evaluates the unexpected participation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. At the diplomatic level, the Japanese government was presented with a fait accompli, says L’Express magazine. “Which is not in good taste in a country that is resistant to surprises,” comments the special envoy to Hiroshima. The delegation of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva even talked about a “trap,” adds the journalist.
Les Echos points out that the G7 summit gave “immense visibility” to the Ukrainian president. All the leaders of the group, made up of Germany, Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom, as well as Australia and South Korea welcomed Zelensky’s presence.
Among the non-aligned countries, notes the French economic daily, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Zelensky and promised that India would do “everything possible” to resolve the conflict and that it understood his “suffering” and that of the Ukrainian people. Zelensky expected more from India, the newspaper pondered, but it was already better than the clash of agendas with the Brazilian president.
Le Figaro and Le Monde note the statements made by President Lula in the press conference before leaving Japan. Lula said he was “upset” not to have met with Zelensky. The Brazilian also said that both the Ukrainian and Russian President Vladimir Putin seem to have no interest in negotiating peace.
The AFP news agency points out that Lula was the target of criticism, according to which he was soft on Russia over the invasion of the neighboring country.
Zelensky obtained significant support from G7 leaders, including American support for access to F-16 fighter jets, something Kiev had long claimed. The Ukrainian president just did not get the same show of support from Brazil, AFP pointed out.
Zelensky Gets More Military Support at G7, Russia Criticizes “Propaganda Show
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, obtained this Sunday (21) new promises of delivery of military equipment, besides the diplomatic support of the G7 countries in Hiroshima, Japan. The meeting with President Lula, expected this afternoon, ended up not taking place.
The American president, Joe Biden, promised this Sunday (21) to Kiev new shipments of arms, ammunition and armored vehicles, worth about US$ 375 million. The announcement comes just days after the US authorized the supply of American-made F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.
Washington will also support an initiative by its allies to train Ukrainian pilots for the F-16s. During the long months of training, Westerners will decide the delivery schedule of the planes, their quantity, and the countries that will supply them.
The White House reiterated, however, that with its military aid, “the United States does not facilitate and does not support attacks on Russian territory.”
Zelensky’s presence in Hiroshima, the 1945 victim of the first atomic bombing in history and now a global symbol of peace, has put the Russian invasion of Ukraine at the center of G7 debates, overshadowing other issues such as allies’ relations with China.
On Sunday, Zelensky visited the monument commemorating the victims of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima, where he left flowers.
On Saturday (20), he met with European allies from the G7 and with the Japanese and Canadian leaders, but also with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who assured that India will do “everything possible” to resolve the conflict.
The Ukrainian leader seeks to gather support for a ten-point peace plan, focused on demanding Russia’s withdrawal from Ukrainian territory.
“Russia must withdraw its troops,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz repeated on Sunday, warning that the “country should not bet that if it resists long enough, support for Ukraine will end up weakening.”
“Propaganda show”
On Sunday, in a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the Ukrainian president’s participation in the G7 had turned the summit into a “propaganda show against the Russians and Chinese.”
According to the text, the G7 has become an “incubator for implementing, under the command of the Anglo-Saxons, destructive initiatives, which endanger world stability.”
Zelensky was also expected to meet on Sunday with President Lula, who last month declared that the United States should “stop encouraging war” in Ukraine, but the meeting did not take place.
At a press conference, the Ukrainian president was asked if he was disappointed that he had not met with the Brazilian president. He replied that he had talked with almost all the leaders, but each one had his own schedule and he could not meet with Lula. “I think that disappointed him,” he summarized.
(With information from AFP)