It's a wink that should not be missed, a wink that even means everything. Volodymyr Zelensky landed this Saturday in Hiroshima, Japan, to meet the leaders of the G7, aboard a plane of the French Republic. It was in this same plane that he was first transported from Poland, to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for the Arab League summit, then to Hiroshima, the first proof of the France's involvement in his visit.
A surprise intervention, planned in the last moments, during his visit to Paris last weekend. President Emmanuel Macron had welcomed the Ukrainian warlord to the Elysee Palace for a working dinner on Sunday, May 14. It was during this interview that Volodymyr Zelensky reportedly expressed the wish to go to Japan after his tour in Europe.
Japan. G7. Important meetings with partners and friends of Ukraine. Security and enhanced cooperation for our victory. Peace will become closer today.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 20, 2023
A request very well received by the tenant of the Élysée who believes, internally, that it is necessary to avoid the "fragmentation" of the world order, and prepare a new summit for Ukraine. It is for these reasons that Emmanuel Macron made this aircraft available from the French Republic, at the request of the Ukrainians, so that he could discuss with the members of the Arab League and then with the countries invited to the G7 such as India and Brazil.
A working session on Ukraine at the initiative of the France
Paris considers that "it must give itself all the means to anchor non-aligned states to the cause of defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine," said a diplomatic source. With the arrival of Volodymyr Zelensky, bilateral meetings were organized in express, in addition to the one with Emmanuel Macron, with US President Joe Biden to discuss the delivery of F-16, or with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Read alsoFollow live the visit of Zelensky to Japan for the G7
According to the same source, it was also the France that insisted on having a working session on Ukraine at this summit in Hiroshima, even if the opposite would have been a surprise. "Our responsibility in the face of crises, as members of the G7, is to act through solidarity and dialogue to stem divisions (...) and support those like Ukraine who fight for their most legitimate rights," the head of state recalled on Twitter, adding that he was in Japan "for Ukraine's victory and the return of a peace based on law."
Our responsibility in the face of crises, as members of the G7, is to act through solidarity and dialogue to stem divisions, to remain exemplary on ecology, to support those like Ukraine who fight for their most legitimate rights. pic.twitter.com/QlwVqTxT9J
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) May 19, 2023
Conclusions for the moment of this historic visit of Zelensky to the G7 allowed by the France: deliveries of F-16s authorized by the United States, a joint initiative to train Ukrainian pilots, a call to China "to put pressure on Russia", and a first meeting with India since the beginning of the war in Ukraine that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has never condemned. A rather successful bet.
