Hiroshima (Japan) (BLAZETRENDS)
“Zelensky expressed his strong desire to participate face to face in this summit and will hold a session on Ukraine with the G7 leaders in person, as well as as a guest at a session on peace and stability,” the Japanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement. According to sources diplomatic, the Ukrainian leader would be traveling to Japan on a French government plane from the Jeddah airport in Saudi Arabia, where he was visiting to participate in a summit of heads of state of the Arab League.
Zelensky is expected to arrive at the Hiroshima airport at noon this Saturday (Japanese local time) and will participate in sessions this Saturday, in addition to holding a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and another with US President Joe Biden, although it is unknown when.
“Regarding the situation in Ukraine, which is one of the main items on the G7 summit agenda, from the perspective of reflecting the voice of Ukraine, Prime Minister Kishida visited the country in March and met with President Ukrainian Zelensky,” the Japanese Foreign Ministry statement continued.
Direct dialogue with leaders
Zelenski is expected to participate in discussions with the G7 leaders on military support for Ukraine and on eventual peace negotiations, according to an official from the European Union (EU), another of the organizations represented at the Hiroshima summit.
The EU considers that one of the most important aspects of the Ukrainian leader’s participation in the summit will be his direct access to dialogue with leaders of other invited countries, and in particular with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is attending as acting president. of the G20, according to the same source.
The confirmation of the visit by the Japanese side comes after a day of contradictory information regarding the surprise visit, since at first the leader’s participation had been announced electronically.
This visit also comes after Kishida was received by Zelensky in Kiev last March, and after his recent trips to the other members of the Group of Seven France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom to meet with their respective leaders.
Hiroshima, the first city to be bombed with a nuclear weapon on August 6, 1945, is the site of the 49th meeting of the Group of Seven, from where the leaders seek to send a strong message for peace and against weapons nuclear weapons in the context of the Ukrainian war.
Biden will meet with Zelensky
In a press conference at the White House press center in Hiroshima, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan took the meeting between the two leaders for granted, although a date has not yet been announced. specifically for the meeting.
“I think it’s a safe bet that President Biden will meet with him (Zelenski). We don’t have a formal announcement, but President Biden is looking forward to the opportunity to sit face to face with President Zelenski,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan declined to offer details about the role the United States may have played in Zelensky’s trip.