The G7 leaders are scheduled to meet in a virtual summit on Feb. 24 and diplomats have been working on the language of the statement that is to follow that meeting. The Financial Times reported yesterday that the U.S. is objecting to use of the term “Russian aggression” to characterize the Ukraine war as every G7 statement since 2022 has. “We are adamant that there must be a distinction made between Russia and Ukraine. They are not the same,” an official briefed on the matter told FT. “The Americans are blocking that language, but we are still working on it and hopeful of an agreement.” Canada is leading the drafting of the statement as it holds the rotating presidency of the G7 for 2025.
According to the New York Times, the U.S. side went through the Canadian first draft this week and removed all references that could be interpreted as being pro-Ukraine, one unnamed senior official from a G7 country said. The result, the official added, was a neutral draft statement that made no references to Russia as the aggressor in the conflict, nor to Ukraine as the victim of the conflict.
Also at issue is whether to send an invite to Zelenskyy to participate, while Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s office announced she would not.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported a similar frenzy is occurring at the United Nations, because the United States is refusing to co-sponsor a resolution which calls for full implementation of previous UN General Assembly resolutions on “the aggression against Ukraine,” which demands that “the Russian Federation immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.” Reuters reports that some 50 nations (unnamed) have signed onto the draft resolution, which they want to present to the UN General Assembly on Feb. 24, on the third anniversary of the Feb. 24 Russian special military operation in Ukraine. The sponsors are now hoping they can wrangle up some signers from the Global South to save appearances.