PARIS: Leaders of the G7 global powers, including US President Donald Trump, on Tuesday reaffirmed their “unwavering support for Ukraine” in a statement on the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion.
It marks the first joint declaration by G7 leaders on Ukraine since Trump’s return to the White House a year ago, noted France, which holds the G7 presidency this year.
“We express our continued support for President Trump’s efforts to achieve these objectives by initiating a peace process and bringing the parties to direct discussions. Europe has a leading role to play in this process, joined by other partners,” the leaders of the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan said.
They also noted their support for the so-called Coalition of the Willing which has offered security guarantees to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire, adding “that only Ukraine and Russia, working together in good faith negotiations, can reach a peace agreement”.
Moscow had hoped to take Kyiv in days when it launched its invasion on Feb 24, 2022.
Instead, four years later, hundreds of thousands have been killed, millions forced to flee and much of eastern Ukraine has been destroyed.
In the midst of another winter of combat, the G7 said it has provided financial support along with “critical equipment” in recent weeks such as generators and turbines to aid the country’s energy supplies.
Since January, “more than half a billion euros of new pledges were made to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund to purchase equipment to repair and protect the Ukrainian energy system,” the statement said.
The United States has been pushing to end the conflict, mediating talks between the two sides this year in Geneva and Abu Dhabi, but they remain at odds over the issue of territory.
