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National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan stressed that the decision regarding the planes did not reflect a shift in US policy. “Nothing has changed,” he told reporters in Hiroshima. “Our approach to providing weapons, equipment and training to the Ukrainians has followed the exigencies of the conflict.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will arrive in Hiroshima on Saturday for the Group of Seven summit, after securing US support to provide Kiev with much-demanded advanced fighter jets and to train Ukrainian pilots.
This trip will be an opportunity to consult with allies such as President Joe Biden, and to attract major non-aligned powers at the summit, including India and Brazil.
The unexpected visit comes after he previously announced his participation via video call, after he stopped in Jeddah, where he delivered a speech before the Arab League summit.
His attendance at the Hiroshima summit follows a breakthrough in his tireless efforts to convince Washington of Ukraine’s need for F-16s.
Momentum has been building to provide Ukraine with those planes, but Washington’s support is essential because its approval is required legally for the re-export of US equipment bought by allies.
The United States has previously cited long and expensive pilot training periods as reasons for not supplying the planes, with officials insisting there are more cost-effective ways to bolster Kiev’s air defenses.
But now it seems likely that the F-16s will join the list of advanced systems, including Western tanks and long-range weapons, that Ukraine’s allies agreed to supply after initial hesitation.
Biden told the G7 leaders in Japan that Washington would now support the request, in a move Zelensky praised as a “historic decision”.
Zelensky said he would meet with Biden in Hiroshima to discuss “practical implementation” of the plan, and the White House said Biden was “looking forward” to the talks, without setting a date.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan stressed that the decision regarding the aircraft does not reflect a shift in US policy. “Nothing has changed,” he told reporters in Hiroshima. “Our approach to providing weapons, equipment and training to the Ukrainians has followed the exigencies of the conflict.”
“We’ve come to a point where it’s time to look ahead and say, ‘What would Ukraine need… to be able to deter and counter Russian aggression?’”
“The F-16, fourth-generation fighters, is part of the mix. The obvious first step here is to do the training and then work with allies, partners and the Ukrainians to determine how to implement the actual resupply points as we go forward,” he said.
Avoid a third world war
The timetable for these exercises remains unclear, and US officials previously estimated they could take up to 18 months.
However, the allies welcomed the decision, including the United Kingdom. “The UK will work with the US, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark to provide Ukraine with the combat air capability it needs,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wrote on Twitter, adding, “We stand together.”
Sullivan denied that providing Ukraine with the planes contributed to an escalation of the conflict, and said that Ukraine had pledged not to use any US military equipment to launch attacks inside Russia.
“We will do everything we can to support Ukraine in its defense of its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and we will move forward in a way that avoids a third world war,” he added.
Zelensky’s presence in Hiroshima will have major implications for the remaining two days of the summit, as Ukraine will steal the spotlight from a long list of other thorny issues, including addressing concerns about China’s growing military and economic power.
Saturday sessions will cover “economic coercion” and how to diversify key sectors and supply chains.
“What we’ve done over the past 20 years with China to encourage development has been right, but maybe we should have been more careful about vital materials and supply chains and those items,” an EU official said.
“I think the goal of all G7 leaders is to say that China has pursued a systematic policy of obtaining important raw materials and controlling supply chains (…) and we are responding to that through diversification,” he added.
Talks will be held with non-member countries amid attempts by G7 leaders to convince developing countries of their ability to offer diplomatic and economic alternatives to countries such as China.
Many of the invitees, including Brazil and India, have refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and are also likely to be prime targets for Zelensky’s diplomacy.
Japan’s foreign ministry said Zelensky will take part in talks on Ukraine with G7 leaders on Sunday, in addition to a session on “peace and stability” that will also include non-member countries invited to the summit.
Zelensky is also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings in Hiroshima with French President Emmanuel Macron and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
The Group of Seven had announced earlier new sanctions against Moscow, and pledged Friday to “starve” the Russian “war machine”.