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Agence France-Presse

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday said “peace will be closer” as a result of meetings at the G7 summit, after a diplomatic source said he had arrived in the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
“Japan. G7. Important meetings with partners and friends of Ukraine. Security and increased cooperation for our victory. Today, peace will be closer,” Zelensky said on social media.
Zelensky’s surprise summit appearance – he had previously been expected to appear by video – came after he welcomed a “historic” White House decision to allow Ukraine to get F-16 jets.
Until now US President Joe Biden had effectively vetoed the transfer of F-16s, with US officials citing long pilot training times and the risk of escalating the 15-month-old conflict with Russia.
Biden’s shorter Asia trip casts ‘cloud’ over US strategy in region
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan insisted there was no about-turn in US policy but the decision was based on the “exigencies of the conflict”.
“We’ve reached a moment where it’s time to look down the road and to say ‘What is Ukraine going to need … to be able to deter and defend against Russian aggression?’
“F-16s, fourth-generation fighter aircraft, are part of that mix,” he said, adding that Ukraine had committed to not use US military equipment to hit targets inside Russia.
“We are going to do everything we can to support Ukraine in its defence of its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and we are also going to proceed in a way that avoids World War III,” he added.
Military experts say the aircraft would be a significant upgrade from Ukraine’s ageing Soviet-era fleet, offering greater ability to strike targets in the air or on the ground.
With the US veto lifted, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak quickly announced that Britain would “work together with the USA and the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark to get Ukraine the combat air capability it needs”.


It is Zelensky’s first post-war trip to the Asia-Pacific – and offers a chance to confer with allies, but also to woo key unaligned powers also joining the summit, including India and Brazil.
“There is an opportunity for Zelensky to engage with these non-Western actors, to try to bolster support, or at least weaken what may be seen as ambivalence towards the conflict,” Ian Lesser, vice-president of the German Marshall Fund think-tank, said.
“And they do matter. They matter especially in terms of sanctions, of course,” he added.
The Ukrainian leader, wearing his trademark olive-green hoodie, touched down at Hiroshima airport, arriving on a French state plane and greeted on the tarmac with a red carpet and a phalanx of officials.
His departure from Ukraine and flight from Poland was a closely guarded secret until he appeared in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah, where he met leaders from the Arab League.
Russian aggression inexcusable but West not ‘bystanders’: Singapore minister
Zelensky’s looming arrival has dominated the G7 summit, stealing the spotlight from a long list of other thorny subjects, including how to address concerns about China’s growing military and economic power.
G7 leaders on Saturday did issue a joint statement denouncing efforts to “weaponise” trade and supply chains, warning they would “fail and face consequences” – a thinly veiled warning to China.
The bloc said it would also address vulnerabilities in supply chains for “critical goods” like minerals, semiconductors and batteries.
“What we have done over 20 years with China, encouraging development, was right, but maybe we should have been more careful on critical material, supply chains and those elements,” an EU official said.
“I think the aim of all G7 leaders is to say that China has followed a systematic policy of acquiring critical raw materials, controlling supply chains … and we are responding to this by diversifying.”
There will also be talks with non-members as G7 leaders try to convince developing nations they can offer diplomatic and economic alternatives to China.


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Japan

Ukraine’s Zelensky lands in Japan, says G7 summit will bring peace ‘closer’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives at Hiroshima airport on Saturday. Photo: Kyodo News via AP

Biden’s shorter Asia trip sparks concerns about US commitment to region, efforts to counter China

US President Joe Biden. Photo: Reuters

US President Joe Biden will be cutting short his coming trip to Asia and will return to Washington earlier than planned to continue debt-ceiling negotiations. Photo: Reuters

A man rides his bicycle past a “G7 Hiroshima” flower sign at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima. Photo: AFP

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (left) with US President Joe Biden during the Quad leaders summit in Tokyo in May 2022. Photo: AP

Russian aggression in Ukraine inexcusable but West ‘not uninvolved bystanders’: Singapore minister K. Shanmugam

Singapore’s Minister of Law K Shanmugam said Russian aggression in Ukraine is inexcusable but West not ‘bystanders’. Photo: AFP/File

Singapore’s Minister for Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam delivers a speech at the Iseas-Yusof Ishak Institute on Wednesday. Photo: ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute

Ukrainian soldiers fire a self-propelled howitzer towards Russian positions near Bakhmut, the site of the heaviest battles, Donetsk region, Ukraine on Tuesday. Photo: AP

‘Nothing new’: Singapore says view on Russia unchanged, after K. Shanmugam’s remarks prompt questions

Ukrainian soldiers take part in a military exercise on May 2. Singapore’s foreign minister said on Monday that the government’s view of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine remained the same, and it remains opposed to Putin’s war. Photo: AP

Singapore law minister K. Shanmugam. An opposition lawmaker has asked whether the minister’s remarks on how Moscow justifies its war in Ukraine signal a change in the city state’s objections to it. File photo: SCMP

Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said “our position remains that it was wrong of Russia” to invade Ukraine, after being questioned by an opposition politician. Photo: Reuters

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Zelensky’s surprise appearance at the Hiroshima meeting came after he welcomed a ‘historic’ US decision to allow Ukraine to get F-16 jets
White House insisted there was no about-turn in Washington policy but the decision was based on the ‘exigencies of the conflict’


Zelensky’s surprise appearance at the Hiroshima meeting came after he welcomed a ‘historic’ US decision to allow Ukraine to get F-16 jets.


Ukraine’s Zelensky lands in Japan, says G7 summit will bring peace ‘closer’

Zelensky’s surprise appearance at the Hiroshima meeting came after he welcomed a ‘historic’ US decision to allow Ukraine to get F-16 jets White House insisted there was no about-turn in Washington policy but the decision was based on the ‘exigencies of the conflict’

Zelensky’s surprise appearance at the Hiroshima meeting came after he welcomed a ‘historic’ US decision to allow Ukraine to get F-16 jets

White House insisted there was no about-turn in Washington policy but the decision was based on the ‘exigencies of the conflict’