Kananaskis (Canada) (AFP) – Group of Seven leaders, holding talks Tuesday at a summit in Canada, promised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fresh support as Russia stepped up attacks on its neighbor. US President Donald Trump, who has had a volatile relationship with Zelensky, had been due to meet him but left the summit early to return to Washington over the Israel-Iran conflict. Zelensky arrived at the remote resort venue in the Canadian Rockies after Russia hit Kyiv with one of the worst bombardments since it invaded in February 2022, killing at least 10 people in the capital.
Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed Zelensky and announced Can$2 billion ($1.47bn) of military support, including drones and helicopters, for Ukraine. “This underscores the importance of standing in total solidarity with Ukraine,” Carney told him, calling for “maximum pressure against Russia.” Carney also joined Britain in tightening sanctions on Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of ships used to circumvent international sanctions on its oil sales. Britain said it wanted to ramp up economic pressure to show Russian President Vladimir Putin it was in his interest to end the war. “These sanctions strike right at the heart of Putin’s war machine, choking off his ability to continue his barbaric war in Ukraine,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement.
US lawmakers have also drafted a package of new sanctions on Russia, but Trump has been hesitant to give his support, saying he wants to preserve relations with Putin, whom he spoke to by telephone on the eve of the G7 summit. Trump infamously berated Zelensky in the Oval Office on February 28, saying he was ungrateful for US aid, but has since voiced disappointment that Putin has rebuffed a US proposal for at least a temporary ceasefire.
Zelensky, his voice choked with emotion, told Carney that the latest Russian attack was a “big tragedy” for Ukrainian families and it showed the need for allies’ support — and made clear that he still backed Trump-led calls for negotiations. “It’s important for our soldiers to be strong in the battlefield, to stay strong until Russia will be ready for the peace negotiations,” Zelensky said. “We are ready for the peace negotiation — unconditional ceasefire. For this we need pressure.”
French President Emmanuel Macron accused his Russian counterpart of exploiting global focus on the Middle East to carry out the deadly attack on Kyiv. “It shows the complete cynicism of President Putin,” Macron told reporters at the summit.
The G7 — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States — was holding its first summit since the return to power of Trump, who openly questions longstanding US alliances. Trump appeared in relatively good spirits before pulling out early. “Obviously with Trump gone the discussions might be a bit smoother, but they also have less impact with the most powerful nation not there,” a diplomat from a G7 nation said on condition of anonymity.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent remained to represent the United States at the summit, where discussions have also concentrated on Trump’s attempts to radically overhaul the world’s trading system. Trump has vowed to slap sweeping tariffs on friends and foes alike on July 9, although he has postponed once. The US president, speaking to reporters on his way back from the summit, complained that the European Union was not yet offering a “fair deal” on trade. “We’re either going to make a good deal or they’ll just pay whatever we say they will pay,” he said.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said she still hoped for a negotiated solution and that talks were “intense and demanding.” Trump’s negotiators have already sealed a deal with Britain and, outside of the G7, reached an agreement to lower tariffs with rival China. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he had “frank” discussions with Trump on Monday but made clear the importance of automobile exports to the world’s second-largest developed economy. “We have not reached an agreement on the package as a whole,” Ishiba told reporters.
© 2024 AFP
