Brussels - Hiroshima: Europe and the Arabs
The summit of the Group of Seven industrialized nations concluded in Hiroshima on Sunday after discussions on the Ukraine crisis and other issues with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after his highly publicized arrival in Japan.
According to the Japanese News Agency, a statement was issued during the summit expressing the countries' support for Ukraine, which is witnessing a Russian war. Zelensky held bilateral talks with Biden and other leaders, and will meet with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida later today.
The agency indicated that it is believed that Zelensky called - during today's sessions in which some leaders of emerging and developing countries in the "Global South" participated - the international community to provide broad support.
According to the Japanese agency, many countries in the Global South have avoided taking sides over the Russian war in Ukraine, as some of them depend on Russia - a country rich in resources - for military supplies and energy.
Today, Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked US President Joe Biden for the great financial support he announced to Ukraine during the war against Russia, during their meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit in the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
The Ukrainian president said - according to the British "Sky News" network, in its English-language publication - that the total funds provided by the United States to his country currently amount to 37 billion US dollars, noting that this does not include the new military aid package, which amounts to 375 million dollars.
Zelensky added that he discussed with Biden ways to strengthen Ukraine's defense capabilities, implement the Ukrainian peace formula, and reconstruction and recovery projects, in a tweet to him on the "Twitter" micro-blogging site.
Zelensky also thanked South Korea for providing humanitarian assistance, in particular the provision of demining vehicles, and he looked forward to continuing cooperation between the two countries.
It is noteworthy that Zelensky had arrived at Hiroshima airport on a French government plane, while the G7 leaders issued a statement pledging support for Ukraine.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that Ukrainian President Zelensky's attendance at the G7 summit is a message to Moscow of strong support for Kiev, according to breaking news of "Cairo News" channel.
Sunak said yesterday that he expected the G7 countries to impose sanctions on Russia, in the wake of the British decision to tighten sanctions and ban the import of diamonds from Russia.
Sunak added, "We are in discussions with our allies and partners, and I already expect that others will follow our example as they did over the last year," noting that sanctions work more effectively when they are imposed in coordination between allies.
On Friday, Britain announced the tightening of sanctions against Russia, including the inclusion of 86 new people, whom London says are linked to the Russian military industrial complex, on the sanctions lists, and the ban on importing diamonds and some minerals from Russia.
Source: agencies