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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Japan on Saturday May 20 to participate in the G7 summit in Hiroshima, where he will notably meet his American counterpart Joe Biden. The latter has just paved the way for a future delivery of combat aircraft so demanded by Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Japan on a French Republic plane from Saudi Arabia, where he had pleaded his case the day before at the Arab League summit before ” some “ country which, according to him, “close your eyes” on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As soon as he arrived in Japan, he declared on social networks: “Japan. G7. Important meetings with partners and friends of Ukraine. Increased security and cooperation for our victory. Today, peace will be closer. » A few hours later, the Wagner group claimed the total capture of Bakhmout (eastern Ukraine), where fierce fighting has been taking place since last summer. kyiv, however, assured that it still controlled a few positions on the spot.

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In the Japanese city devastated in 1945 by the first atomic bomb in history, the head of state turned warlord will meet the leaders of the allied countries who already strongly support him, as well as those of major non-aligned emerging powers such as Brazil. and especially India. As soon as he arrived on Japanese soil, Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose country has close military ties with Russia. Narendra Modi assured that India would do “everything possible” to find a solution to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

“I fully understand your suffering and the suffering of the Ukrainian people. I can assure you that to resolve (this conflict, Editor’s note), India and I personally will do everything we can.”, said Narendra Modi. It was the first meeting between the two leaders since the Russian invasion of Ukraine fifteen months ago, which India has so far refused to condemn. A message posted on Volodymyr Zelensky’s Telegram account says he has “thanked India for its support for territorial integrity and sovereignty” from Ukraine, “especially in front of international organizations”. He also thanked Narendra Modi for the humanitarian aid given to his war-torn country and called on India to participate in the implementation of the “formula of peace” developed by Ukraine.

A decision “historical”

For his part, Joe Biden said to himself « impatient » of “meet face to face” his Ukrainian counterpart on the sidelines of the summit of the seven most industrialized democracies. They will discuss “practical implementation” of the American decision on combat aircraft. The arrival of President Zelensky has become the main subject of the G7, which must however also agree on Saturday on a common position in the face of the rise in economic, diplomatic and military power of China, against a backdrop of growing tensions between Washington and Beijing.

At the G7, the heads of state meeting in Japan will seek to contain China

Ukraine is preparing a counter-offensive

At the end of a meeting devoted to Ukraine on Friday, the White House announced that the American president had overcome his long-standing reluctance by saying he was ready to allow other countries to supply Kiev with planes. combat he demands, American-made F-16s. A decision “historical”, greeted the Ukrainian president. Jake Sullivan confirmed that Washington now supports a joint initiative by its allies to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16s. During these long months of training, Westerners will decide when to deliver planes, how many, and which countries will provide them.

“The UK will work with the US, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark to provide Ukraine with the combat air capability it needs”, immediately reacted British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, also present in Japan. French President Emmanuel Macron also said he was ready on Monday May 15 to provide training to Ukrainian pilots. While his country is preparing a major counter-offensive against Moscow, Volodymyr Zelensky had just returned from a tour of Europe where he had again requested these fighters. But so far, the West, led by the United States, has resisted these demands, citing the risk of escalating the conflict, and claiming that this is not a priority.

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China in the sights of the G7

On Saturday, the heads of state and government of the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and Canada were to discuss the “economic coercion” often attributed to Beijing, and the necessary diversification of key sectors and supply chains, to depend less on China in particular. “What we did for over twenty years with China, encouraging its development, was right, but maybe we should have been more careful when it came to strategic goods, supply chains and those things”acknowledged a European Union official.