Ukrainian President Zelenskyy arrives in Japan for 2023 G-7 summit: ‘Peace will get closer today’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Japan on Saturday for diplomatic talks with the leaders of the world’s most powerful democracies participating in the Group of Seven (G7) after the United States pledged to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighters .

“Japan. G7. Important meetings with partners and friends of Ukraine. Strengthened security and cooperation for our victory,” Zelenskyy wrote in a Message on Twitter upon his arrival in Japan. “Peace will get closer today.”

“Peace will get closer today.”

— Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Volodymyr Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives at Hiroshima airport to attend Group of Seven Nations (G7) meetings in Hiroshima, western Japan, Saturday, May 20, 2023. (Kyodo news via AP)

Confirmation of Zelensky’s presence in person came as G-7 leaders from the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the UK, Japan and the European Union reaffirmed their “commitment to stand together against the illegal, unjustifiable and unprovoked aggressive war against Ukraine”.

“Our support for Ukraine will not waver,” G-7 leaders said in a statement on Friday, vowing to “stand united against Russia’s illegal, unjustifiable and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine.”

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“Russia started this war and can end this war,” they said

The Ukrainian president was originally scheduled to attend an online session on Friday, but plans changed after he expressed a “strong desire” to attend in person, Japan’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

Volodymyr Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center, walks to a car upon his arrival at Hiroshima airport to attend Group of Seven Nations (G7) meetings in Hiroshima, western Japan, Saturday, May 20, 2023. (Kyodo news via AP)

An EU official told the Associated Press that Zelenskyy will take part in two separate sessions on Sunday.

The first session will be reserved for G-7 members and will focus on the war in Ukraine. The second session will include the G-7 as well as other nations invited to take part in the summit, and will focus on “peace and stability”.

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Ahead of Zelenskyy’s participation in the G-7, the group announced it would supply Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets and train Ukrainian pilots to fly them.

Zelenskyy welcomed Biden’s decision, saying in a tweet that it would “significantly improve our military in the sky.”

A senior administration official told reporters that “the training will take place over the next few months, our coalition of countries participating in this effort will decide when we actually supply the jets, how many we will supply and who will supply them.” The program will include F-16 training among other combat aircraft, with the program taking place over the next few months at sites in Europe.

Volodymyr Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy walks to a car upon his arrival at Hiroshima airport to attend the meetings of the Group of Seven (G-7) nations on Saturday May 20, 2023 in Hiroshima, western Japan. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Zelenskyy’s arrival in Japan marks the longest journey since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

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A plane chartered by the French government took President Zelenskyy to an Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia before flying to Hiroshima, Japan, for the G-7 meeting.

Peter Aitken of Fox News Digitals contributed to this report.

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