The G7, an opportunity for Ukraine to exchange with the countries of the South?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G7 summit in Hiroshima on May 21, 2023. AFP - HANDOUT

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During the last working session on Sunday, May 21 at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, Ukraine is expected to occupy the majority of the debates, especially with the presence of the Ukrainian President himself, Volodymyr Zelensky made the trip and must speak to the member countries and to those invited, the countries of the South, sometimes much more reluctant to support the Ukrainian cause

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With our special envoy to Hiroshima, Vincent Souriau

Volodymyr Zelensky had to be brought to Japan. It was the France that did it. And according to his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, who spoke to the press just before the opening of the debates this Sunday morning, the first results are already there: "I think it is the honor of the France to have done this by allowing President Zelensky to go before the Arab League, to have very clear support from Saudi Arabia, and several powers in the region, which is a real turning point, and to come here to be able to speak in a few moments to the members of the G7, to obtain clarifications sometimes on support and to plead before the troika of G20 presidencies. It is a way of building peace. »

This troika includes Brazil, India and Indonesia, among others: countries that say they are in favour of peace, but which could be satisfied with a ceasefire in Ukraine. And it is here, says the French president, that Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukraine's allies must make a difference:

If making peace is making war in Ukraine a frozen conflict, it is a mistake for all of us, because experience has taught us that a frozen conflict will be a war for tomorrow, and therefore let us not have an absolute preference for the present by buying it or by ease. Peace must be the construction of a negotiated lasting peace that settles the problem in its fundamentals and respects the Charter of the United Nations, and that is where ambiguity must be removed.

A frozen conflict would be "a mistake for all", says Emmanuel Macron

Vincent Souriau

No one expects the lines to move in a day. But we will soon know if the Ukrainian president has scored points: The communiqué resulting from this joint meeting should be published soon.

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Read on on the same topics:

  • Ukraine
  • G7
  • Diplomacy
  • France
  • Emmanuel Macron