Ukraine's Zelenskyy seeks G7 support as Trump's early exit dampens summit

Business Standard

4 hours ago

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Canada on Tuesday to urge the Group of Seven to provide more backing for the war against Russia even after U.S. President Donald Trump left the summit early due to developments in the Middle East.
The G7 group of wealthy nations has struggled to find unity over conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East as Trump has expressed support for Russian President Vladimir Putin and has imposed tariffs on many of the allies present.
Zelenskyy started his day by meeting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who said Ottawa would provide C$2 billion ($1.47 billion) in new military assistance for Kyiv as well as impose new financial sanctions.
A Russian attack overnight on Kyiv that killed 12 people "underscores the importance of standing in total solidarity with Ukraine," he said.
Carney said when G7 leaders met for dinner on Monday, they stressed the importance of using "maximum pressure against Russia" to force it to start serious peace talks.
"We are ready for the peace negotiations, unconditional ceasefire - I think it's very important. But for this, we need pressure," Zelenskyy replied.
When the summit ends later on Tuesday, Carney plans to issue a statement calling for more pressure on Russia through sanctions and saying the G7 backs U.S.-led peace efforts, a G7 source said.
Although Canada is one of Ukraine's most vocal defenders, its ability to help Kyiv is far outweighed by the United States, the largest arms supplier. Zelenskyy had said he hoped to talk to Trump about acquiring more weapons.
Trump said on Monday he needed to be back in Washington as soon as possible due to the situation in the Middle East, where escalating attacks between Iran and Israel have raised risks of a broader regional conflict.
He later said his early departure from the summit had "nothing to do with" working on a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, however, denying comments by French President Emmanuel Macron, who had said the U.S. president leaving could be a sign of a potential deal.
A European Union diplomat said all remaining G7 members wanted to stay to meet Zelenskyy and continue conversations.
Trump agreed to a group statement calling for a resolution of the Israel-Iran conflict.
"We urge that the resolution of the Iranian crisis leads to a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza," the statement said.
The statement said Iran is the principal source of regional instability and terror and that Israel has the right to defend itself.
Last week, Zelenskyy said he planned to discuss continued support for Ukraine, sanctions against Russia, and future financing for Kyiv's reconstruction efforts.
"Our conviction is that if we want to move towards peace, we must indeed demonstrate our resolve together and our ability to go much further with sanctions," French President Emmanuel Macron said late on Monday.
A European official said after the talks with Trump on Monday that there was broad agreement among G7 countries, including the United States, to do more to pressure Russia into a ceasefire, but acknowledged the idea of lowering the Russia oil price cap had been shelved given a spike in prices.
Trump said on Monday that the then Group of Eight had been wrong to expel Russia after Putin ordered the occupation of Crimea in 2014.
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Trump was right and said the G7 was no longer significant for Russia and looked "rather useless."
G7 leaders prepared several draft documents seen by Reuters, including on migration, artificial intelligence, and critical minerals. None of them have been approved by the United States, according to sources briefed on the documents.
Without Trump, it is unclear if there will be any declarations, a European diplomat said.
Carney also invited non-G7 members Mexico, India, Australia, South Africa, South Korea and Brazil, as he tries to shore up alliances elsewhere and diversify Canada's exports away from the United States.