Zelenskyy calls on G7 to ensure Russia is ‘last aggressor’
Hiroshima, Japan- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on the world to prevent future wars by ensuring Russia is the “last aggressor”.
In a speech marking the end of a week-long diplomatic blitz in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s victory over Russia would deter future aggressors.
Zelenskyy’s plan, first proposed in November, would restore Ukraine’s borders and include the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory, as well as guarantees of nuclear, energy and food security.
“We will cripple other potential aggressors,” Zelenskyy said at a press conference on Sunday, the last day of the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Hiroshima.
“If everyone who wants war sees how determined the world is when it wants peace, there’s no point in starting a war.”
Zelensky delivered his speech after receiving pledges from G7 countries to step up pressure on Russia and increase support for Ukraine’s defense.
US President Joe Biden previously announced a $375 million military aid package, which includes more munitions, artillery and armored vehicles, in addition to offering his support for training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets.
On Friday, G7 leaders pledged to tighten their sanctions against Russia and to support Ukraine for the long term.
Washington separately imposed new sanctions on 22 Russians and 104 Russian entities, while British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced an import ban on Russian diamonds, copper, aluminum, tin and nickel.
The European Union is currently negotiating an eleventh package of sanctions aimed at closing loopholes and tackling the circumvention of existing measures.
In a speech against the backdrop of the Atomic Bomb Dome earlier on Sunday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the G7 host, called Zelenskyy’s presence as evidence of his country’s “unwavering solidarity” with Ukraine and condemned the invasion of Moscow as striking against the “fundamental base”. of the international order”.
Yet Zelenskyy’s visit revealed significant divisions that prevented the formation of a united front against Russia, and the Ukrainian leader did not get everything he wanted in Hiroshima.
While the G7 remains influential, the G7’s share of the world economy has fallen from about 70 percent in the 1980s to 44 percent today.
Kishida invited eight non-G7 members to the summit, including India, Indonesia, Australia and South Korea, as part of efforts to boost cooperation on global challenges, including the war in Ukraine.
‘Nothing has changed’
India, China and Turkey have ramped up Russian energy imports since the invasion, mitigating the impact of sanctions on the Russian economy, which shrank by less than expected 2.1 percent last year.
While Zelenskyy met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who pledged to do “everything we can” to resolve the crisis in Ukraine, there was no indication New Delhi would impose sanctions or limit its purchases of Russian energy.
“Nothing has fundamentally changed since the beginning of the war,” Alka Acharya, a professor at the Center for East Asian Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, told Al Jazeera.
“In terms of Indian interests and if he [Modi] indicated, he would champion the cause of the Global South at the summit. He would, in my opinion, abide by that order—apart from making general remarks about the desire for a speedy end to the war.
Zelenskyy did not meet with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, better known as Lula, who said last month that there is “no point in saying who is right” in the conflict anymore.
The Ukrainian leader downplayed the lack of talks and suggested it was a matter of planning.
“I think it disappointed him,” Zelenskyy said when asked if he was disappointed that the two men did not meet, sparking laughter among the assembled media.
Zelenskyy also admitted that he would like to see Japan and South Korea supply arms to Ukraine along with all other countries capable of doing so, but acknowledged that “legislative and constitutional complications” made such moves difficult for some governments.
Zelensky expressed confidence that his country would receive F-16 fighter jets from Western countries, although Kiev has not yet made any commitments for the delivery of the aircraft.
But even among G7 members, gaps in the sanctions regime against Russia persist.
Philipp Lausberg, policy analyst at the European Policy Center in Brussels, described the G7’s measures against, for example, the Russian diamond trade as “lean”.
“The UK is the only country that went ahead and put an embargo on Russian diamonds, but all the other countries have only stated their intention to restrict trade in Russian diamonds at some point,” Lausberg told Al Jazeera.
Yet Zelenskyy was defiant on Sunday night as the curtain fell on his visit to Japan, expressing his belief that Russia “cannot win” its war and that “international law will never apply again” if Moscow is not stopped.
“I believe there is no place for war in the world,” he said.