Volodymyr Zelensky’s personal visit to the G7 meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, allowed the Ukrainian president to obtain some notable results, especially at the diplomatic level: in particular, Zelensky had the opportunity to meet for the first time since the beginning of the war the leaders of some important developing countries hosting the G7, such as India, which in recent months have avoided taking sides and have maintained close economic relations with Russia, allowing it to circumvent sanctions.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who was present at the G7, said Zelensky’s ability to speak directly with the leaders of these countries could be “decisive”.
Most of the biggest decisions made by the leaders of the G7 countries, the informal group of seven of the world‘s most important democratic and industrialized countries, have involved Ukraine. The most important decision was probably the one on fighter jets: US President Joe Biden announced that he will allow countries that want to supply US-made F-16 warplanes to Ukraine, and that many Western countries will start programs to train Ukrainian pilots to operate American fighters. According to the newspapers also Italy could participate to the Ukrainian pilot training program.
– Read also: Why US openness to F-16s to Ukraine matters
Other relevant decisions concern the attempts by the G7 countries not only to tighten sanctions against Russia, but above all to make them less easy to circumvent. In particular, the new US-inspired sanctions they try to focus on the practices and trades that allow Russia to evade sanctions. They also expand export bans on Russian products to sectors that could prove important in the long run, such as those technologies that could allow Russia to expand its energy production in the future.
But for Zelensky, the main advantage of appearing in person at Hiroshima was the opportunity to speak with the leaders of the non-aligned countries. In addition to the G7 member countries, it is customary for the host country (in this case Japan) to invite representatives of other countries at its discretion to attend the meetings. This year the list included Australia, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Comoros (an island African state representing the African Union) and the Cook Islands (representing the Pacific Islands Forum). Above all, among the guests there were also Brazil and India, two of the largest democratic countries in the world, which the West has been trying to involve for some time in supporting the Ukrainian resistance.
Zelensky had the opportunity to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in person for the first time since the beginning of the war, with whom he held a bilateral meeting. India had called for a ceasefire in Ukraine in recent months but had never openly condemned the Russian invasion, and indeed took advantage of Western sanctions on energy to buy huge quantities of Russian oil at discounted prices: the West believes that India, together with China, is the country that more than any other has contributed to the stability of the Russian economy in recent months.
Met with the President @ZelenskyyUa in Hiroshima. Expressed our clear support for dialogue and diplomacy to find a way forward. We will continue to provide humanitarian aid to the people of Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/EOyPtHdeBu
Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 20, 2023
Zelensky also met Joko Widodo, the president of Indonesia (which is the fourth most populous country in the world) but has not yet had a bilateral meeting with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the president of Brazil. The two met only during the plenary meetings, those in which all the invited countries participate. In recent weeks, in an interview to the American magazine TimeLula had said that Zelensky “is as responsible for the war as Putin”.
For Zelensky it is important to meet the leaders of developing countries that did not take sides during the war: his biggest non-military goal is to widen as much as possible the number of countries that condemn the Russian invasion and that, if not participate in economic sanctions, at least not actively help to circumvent them.
Also for this reason Zelensky has been particularly careful for some time to seek meetings with the leaders of non-Western countries. He had already done so the day before the G7, when in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, he had participated in a meeting of the Arab League attended by many countries that have maintained excellent relations with Russia, starting with the United Arab Emirates.