“The G7 summit in Hiroshima, after having finished all the sessions, has lowered the curtain,” said the head of the Japanese government. There was a slight weariness and satisfaction on his face. The Japanese side has fully fulfilled its role. The event was organized at a high level, it took place according to a scenario agreed in advance and without serious failures.
This year, the main topic of the G-7 summit, as planned, was the conflict in Ukraine. All the decisions of the main Western powers boiled down to one formula – to increase pressure on Russia and continue to provide full assistance to Kyiv “as long as necessary”.
The high point of the program was the “surprise” visit to the Japanese islands by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who arrived in Hiroshima on the afternoon of May 20 aboard a French government plane. Macron later said it was a matter of honor for him to provide advice to his Ukrainian colleague. Initially, the Japanese side said the Ukrainian leader would join the G7 summit participants via video link. However, journalists found out that this was not the case and informed in advance about the imminent arrival of the Ukrainian guest.
At Hiroshima airport, Zelenskyy was greeted by Ukraine’s ambassador to Japan, Serhiy Korsunsky, who for the occasion donned a khaki vyshyvanka. Probably, the diplomat wanted to demonstrate to his leader that he was also in the ranks, although he was located almost ten thousand kilometers from the combat zone. However, the effect of such an outfit was doubtful. The costume created the feeling of a production with the participation of an actor from a provincial theater.
The Ukrainian president quickly got into an armored BMW of the seventh series and, accompanied by bikers and heavily armed guards, drove to the hotel. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister George Meloni and European Council chief Charles Michel were already waiting for him there for detailed negotiations.
On the final day of the summit, May 21, other Group of Seven representatives met with Zelenskyy – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and US leader Joe Biden. The owner of the White House discussed with Zelenskyy the training of Ukrainian pilots and announced the allocation of a new military assistance program to Kyiv in the amount of 375 million dollars. As noted, the United States has sent a total of $37 billion to the Ukrainian side as part of financial support.
Biden said Washington defends Ukraine’s territorial integrity and supports “a just peace.” In turn, Zelenskyy asked the US president to provide security guarantees to Ukraine before his state joined NATO. At the same time, he expressed hope for a positive solution to the issue of Kiev’s joining the bloc before the North Atlantic Alliance summit in July this year in Vilnius.
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz partly responded to these appeals, pointing out that Ukraine did not meet many of the criteria for NATO membership. The German politician also announced that Berlin would not participate in the supply of F-16 fighters to Kyiv. “Everyone knows we don’t even have such planes,” he said. Although, in principle, the issue of supplying military aircraft to Ukraine has already been resolved, it remains only to agree on the timing and logistical means of supplying this equipment.
It should be noted that on the sidelines of the G7 summit, the Ukrainian leader had a separate conversation with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Indian chief of staff was invited to Hiroshima as a guest along with senior officials from other states – Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, Vietnam, South Korea, Cook Islands and the Union of Comoros. For this reason, the representatives of the G7 tried, on the one hand, to change the position of the countries which did not adhere to the pressure on Russia, and on the other hand, to make believe that not only Washington and its key allies rule the show at the top.
The decisions of the G7 summit in Hiroshima aimed at a double containment of Russia and China
The “Seven” has long become a predictable and unsurprising format, in which the major Western powers participate. They only discuss and promote their own ideas, advocate their own world domination, do not listen to alternative viewpoints and try to suppress dissent. Despite the magnitude of the event, it is clear that the Group of Seven is not a representative community and cannot speak for the whole world. There are other formats that cover a larger number of participants. We are talking, for example, of the G20, which includes China and Russia. And the range of opinions represented there is much wider. This platform still has a place for discussions and disputes, and therefore for the truth.
Moscow reacted critically to the holding of the G-7 summit in Hiroshima. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that the decisions of the G7 summit in Hiroshima aimed at a “double containment of Russia and China”. According to him, the NATO countries have openly set themselves the task of “defeating Russia on the battlefield” and eliminating our country as a geopolitical competitor. The Ukrainian crisis is used by Washington to consolidate the Western camp.
Of course, the communication between the Group of Seven leaders also had anti-China overtones, but the rhetoric regarding the PRC was more delicate and the wording simplified. The G7 countries called for direct dialogue with China on global issues, but called on Beijing to behave responsibly. They noted that “they do not seek to harm China and hinder its economic development.” Apparently, in the camp of the Western states, there are still different views on the course towards the Chinese leadership, and not everyone is ready to get involved in an open confrontation with the PRC.
This, for example, is indirectly indicated by the reluctance of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to directly answer journalists’ questions about the imposition of sanctions against Chinese companies that allegedly “helped Russia” in the context of the situation around Ukraine. Such measures, in particular, are called for by the European Commission, whose President Ursula von der Leyen was also recently in Hiroshima. In turn, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stressed that China represents “the greatest challenge of our century for global security and prosperity”. And US President Joe Biden, at a press conference after the summit, even threatened China in the event of “unilateral steps” against Taiwan.
In response, Beijing accused the G7 of interfering in China’s internal affairs, including those related to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet. The Foreign Ministry of the People’s Republic of China has officially protested to Japan as the host state of the summit, noting that the G7 countries are “slandering and attacking” China. The Celestial Empire pointed out that the Group of Seven hinders international harmony, damages regional stability and hinders the development of other countries. “Such actions do not inspire international confidence,” said the Chinese foreign minister.
Alongside the G7 summit in Hiroshima, a leaders’ meeting was also held as part of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue QUAD with the participation of the Prime Ministers of Australia, India, Japan and the US President. The leaders of these states discussed the situation in the Indo-Pacific region (IPR). Initially, the event was to take place in Sydney, but at the last moment Joe Biden refused to go there due to the US national debt situation. As a result, the communication of the heads of the countries participating in the QUAD had to be adjusted to the schedule of the owner of the White House.
In the meantime
ASEAN countries have abandoned payments in dollars in favor of national currencies. G-10 states will promote their own currencies for bilateral and multilateral payments. The withdrawal from the use of US currency will be phased in. Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov drew attention to the fact that the trend of de-dollarization of the world economy is observed not only conceptually, but also in practice. Moscow has many like-minded people on this issue. These topics are expected to be discussed among the main ones at the BRICS summit in August 2023.
Read the Latest Science and Technology News Today on The Eastern Herald.
