The G7 Leaders Meeting, called by G7 chair Canada, met by video yesterday, on the third anniversary of the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. As of this writing, the meeting has failed to produce a final statement because of disagreement over its content, Kyodo News reported. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hyashi said in a press conference that members hadn’t agreed on the timing and content of a final statement because the U.S. was objecting to the use of the phrase “Russian aggression” in describing the Ukraine conflict. Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly told Reuters that “we’re still having conversations” with the Americans and Europeans and “it’s never been so intense in terms of diplomatic engagement.”
It had been hoped that the meeting would issue a unified statement, but the setting itself was chaotic. U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron joined the meeting from Washington along with Vice President J.D. Vance, while Canada’s Justin Trudeau and the U.K’s Keir Starmer joined from Kiev where they had arrived to express solidarity with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. European Commission President Ursula von der Lyden also joined the Kiev crowd. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attended by video, as did Italy’s Georgia Meloni. Zelenskyy spent his time demanding that Trump continue to provide military and financial aid to Ukraine and accept its membership in NATO. “Do you still want to be the leader of the Free World?” he asked Trump.
A gaggle of 12 European officials, including EU leaders, prime ministers, and heads of state made the trek to Kiev to loudly proclaim support for Zelenskyy and vow to send a larger stream of military aid to make up for what Donald Trump will no longer be sending. There were many effusive proclamations of unity, and dismay over the U.S. taking a different path. European Council President António Costa blustered that he intends to call an emergency summit on March 6 of all 27 EU members, at which defense of Ukraine will be the main topic of discussion.
