G7 leaders to meet virtually on Wednesday with Ukraine’s Zelenskiy

By Sakura Murakami and John Geddie

TOKYO, Dec 6 (Reuters) – Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) countries will hold a virtual meeting on Wednesday with Ukraine’s president, Volodomyr Zelenskiy, in a show of support for the country’s war against Russia, Japan said on Wednesday.

“We’d like to make clear that we stand with Ukraine as the G7” a Japanese government official said, adding the message would be reinforced amid concern that the international community’s focus could shift away from Ukraine to the Israeli-Hamas conflict.

The official, who declined to be named, said the G7 will reiterate its commitment to imposing strong sanctions on Russia for its attack on Ukraine, but details were being negotiated. The official did not elaborate.

The G7 members, comprising Japan, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, and the European Union, pledged in May to restrict exports to Russia that could fund its war effort in Ukraine.

A statement issued at the time said the restrictions would cover exports of industrial machinery, tools and technology and it would also try to limit Russian revenues from trade in metals and diamonds.

Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Hirokazu Matsuno, said at a press conference on Wednesday that the G7 will also discuss the Middle East and artificial intelligence.

The White House announced earlier that the meeting will be held at 1430 GMT and will be closed to the media.