Japan plans online G7 summit on anniversary of Russian invasion

Tokyo, Feb 1 (EFE).- Japan, the country that currently holds the G7’s presidency, plans to convene an online leaders summit on Feb. 24, the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, local news agency Kyodo reported Wednesday.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida would invite Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenskyy to the meeting, as well as the leaders of Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States, government sources told the agency.

Japan will host the face-to-face summit of G7 leaders in the city of Hiroshima at the end of May, an appointment in which the hosts hope to send a message of unity against Russian aggression and in favor of denuclearization.

The meeting would serve along the same lines to reaffirm the support of G7 for Kyiv and its condemnation of Moscow, as well as to seek additional ways of financial aid to Ukraine, according to the same sources.

Japan’s foreign affairs ministry has not yet confirmed this information.

Kishida is also planning a visit to Ukraine later in February to meet with Zelenskyy, according to local media.

The Japanese prime minister is the only G7 leader who has not met Zelenskyy face-to-face since the Russian invasion began nearly a year ago.

The leaders of the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Italy and France have visited Kyiv, while US President Joe Biden met Zelenskyy in Washington in December.

Kishida also met NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Tokyo on Tuesday, in a meeting aimed at strengthening ties between the Atlantic alliance and Japan amid rapprochement between Moscow and Beijing. EFE

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