Lasting solidarity with Ukraine, a clear edge against Russia: At the weekend, the G7 summit will be attended by whoever is leading the defensive fight against Putin – virtually or even physically.
The leading democratic economic powers are increasing their punitive measures against Russia and its supporters for the aggressive war against Ukraine.
At the start of their summit in Hiroshima, Japan, the G7 decided to significantly limit the trade in diamonds from Russia in order to reduce the income needed to finance the war. In a joint statement, the Group of Seven (G7) threatened states and companies that support Russia’s war with “significant costs”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj may also come to Hiroshima as a surprise guest at the weekend. The secretary of the Ukrainian National Security Council, Oleksiy Danilov, announced the visit on television: “Very important things will be decided there, so the physical presence of our president is absolutely important,” he said.
In a subsequent press release by the committee, however, it was said that Zelenskyj was only taking part online. Whether this is a real denial or just a diversionary maneuver for security reasons remains open.
Memory of atomic bomb victims – no gesture by Biden
The summit started without Zelenskyy, but with a strong symbol, especially with a view to the Russian war against Ukraine. The heads of state and government commemorated the victims of the world’s first use of nuclear weapons together. On August 6, 1945, the US plane “Enola Gay” dropped the harmless-sounding “Little Boy” bomb over Hiroshima. The blast killed 70,000 people instantly, with more than 330,000 victims recorded to date.
A part of the destroyed inner city was converted into a peace park shortly after the war. There, at the memorial for the victims, the heads of state and government laid wreaths together. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stood between US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron during the minute of silence.
Macron put his hand on Kishida’s shoulder. On the other hand, there was no special gesture from Biden. To this day, the United States sees no reason to apologize for dropping the atomic bomb. Even Barack Obama, whose commitment to a world free of nuclear weapons was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, did not apologize when a US President visited Hiroshima for the first time in 2016. Many Americans still consider the nuclear strike to be justified because they believe it led to Japan’s surrender and thus ended World War II.
G7 wants to cut Russia’s diamond revenues
Even without Zelensky, the heads of state and government were already discussing Ukraine. Alongside the restrictions on the diamond trade, the US presented a package of sanctions intended to cut off US exports to around 70 companies and organizations from Russia and other countries. The UK announced an import ban on diamonds as well as one on copper, aluminum and nickel from Russia.
Russia is the world’s largest producer of rough diamonds. In 2021, the state diamond promoter Alrosa had revenues of 332 billion rubles (around 4 billion euros). These are the latest figures published.
So far, the EU has not restricted trade. One of the reasons was resistance from Belgium, where the Flemish port city of Antwerp has been the diamond center of the world since the 16th century.
Selenskyj first in the Arab League
Zelenskyj first attended the Arab League summit in the Saudi Arabian port city of Jeddah today. For the first ten months after the Russian invasion, he hadn’t left the country at all. In December he first visited US President Biden in Washington, followed by several trips within Europe, most recently to Germany.
Hiroshima is where his main allies are gathered in terms of arms supplies, financial support and reconstruction. But he might also want to talk to them about the planned accession to the European Union and NATO.
Difficult discussion about fighter jets
The discussion between Zelenskyj and the G7 over arms deliveries is unlikely to be easy. During his visit to Berlin, the Ukrainian President had wished for an alliance to supply Western-style fighter jets. But it only gets off to a slow start. Great Britain and the Netherlands have indeed initiated them. Chancellor Olaf Scholz is skeptical.
How the US will behave is unclear. But you have a key role. Ukraine wants US-made F16 fighter jets. Every export to the Ukraine – even from the stocks of the allies – must be approved by the Americans. The US news channel CNN reported that the US government had already given the green light.
Russia again asked for complete troop withdrawal
The G7 Ukraine statement makes no mention of the fighter jets. In it, the heads of state and government merely reaffirm their general readiness to continue providing military support to Ukraine in accordance with its needs.
Russia is once again urged to withdraw its troops completely. “Russia started this war and can end this war,” it says. “We underscore that there can be no just peace without the complete and unconditional withdrawal of Russian troops and military equipment, and any call for peace must take this into account.”