Zelenskyy to attend G7 summit in Hiroshima as leaders eye new sanctions against Russia

Canada, the United States and other Group of Seven allies were planning new sanctions and export controls against individuals and companies supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will also attend the gathering of the world’s major democratic economies, who will personally participate, according to a high-ranking Ukrainian official.

Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, Alexi Danilov, confirmed on national television on Friday that Zelensky will attend the summit on Sunday.

In his late-night address to his nation on Thursday, Zelenskiy said he was seeking more modern weapons from the country’s allies.

“Our priorities this week, next week and in the near future are additional air defense systems, additional missiles, exercises and aircraft and long-range weapons,” Zelensky said.

“And this shall come to pass.”

The Biden administration signaled to European allies that the United States will allow them to export F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, CNN reported late Thursday on the eve of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan.

The network cited unnamed senior administration officials who added that they were not aware of any ally requesting permission to export fourth-generation warplanes that are more advanced than the ones currently piloted by Ukraine.

The leaders arrived and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held a series of bilateral meetings, including with host leader Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, with whom he raised the issue of discrimination and discrimination against gay people in that country. .

“Obviously, Canada is concerned about Italy’s position on LGBT rights, but I look forward to talking about it,” Trudeau said.

Maloney responded that his government is following court decisions and not deviating from previous administrations.

Canada will impose more sanctions

The war in Ukraine, however, was the dominant theme on Friday.

A senior Canadian official, speaking on background, said early Friday that the sanctions Canada plans to issue will target 17 people and 18 Russian companies that “provide military technology.” Another 30 people were punished for violating human rights.

It comes at a crucial time when allied military observers have noted Russia’s increased use of new hypersonic missiles in airstrikes over Ukraine, a possible sign of increased production.

Britain plans to ban imports of Russian diamonds, an industry worth about US$4 billion a year, as part of its latest sanctions package, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said ahead of the summit. Canada has already imposed sanctions on the Russian diamond industry.

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Retired Admiral Mike Mullen, former chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, says he believes it is only a matter of time before the West supplies fighter jets to Ukraine to help the country defend its airspace.

Other countries have been slow to act. G7 leaders are expected to discuss measures to better track the diamond trade with a view to imposing EU sanctions later, a senior EU official told Reuters.

The message was reinforced by the President of the European Council.

“Russian diamonds are not forever,” Charles Michel told reporters on the sidelines of the summit.

Allies continue to increase sanctions and export control pressure on Russia since its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Canada says the sanctions are in place

So far, thousands of targets sanctioned by Washington have included Russian President Vladimir Putin, the financial sector and oligarchs.

Experts say they expect G7 leaders to focus on tightening existing sanctions and cracking down on sanctions evasion. A recent report from the US Treasury Department noted how Russian elites have transferred ownership of companies and assets to family members or other proxies in an attempt to hide wealth.

Speaking before the summit, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly insisted that the sanctions regime against Russia is in place.

“We’ve seen the impact of the G7 sanctions on Russia really negatively affect their military, particularly the ability for the Russian military to have access to key technologies from the West,” he said.

“While we know that we have to look at the issue of avoiding sanctions [G7] The finance ministers have looked at this and the foreign ministers have looked at this and the leaders will be looking at this as well.”