Hiroshima: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Hiroshima on Saturday to join G7 negotiations after winning the long-sought United States support for access to advanced F-16 fighter jets and training for Kyiv’s pilots.
The rare long-haul trip is the chance to confer with partners like the president United States Joe Biden and woo key unaligned powers at the summit, including India and Brazil.
Zelensky’s surprise appearance — he had previously been expected to appear by video — comes after a stop in Jeddah to address the Arab League. A diplomatic source told AFP that he would arrive on a French plane Saturday afternoon.
He arrives fresh off a breakthrough in his long-running campaign to convince Washington of Ukraine’s need for F-16s.
Momentum had been building to provide the planes, but Washington’s support is critical because its approval is legally required to re-export United States equipment purchased by allies.
The United States had lastly cited a long pilot training period and high costs as a reason not to supply the fighter jets, with officials insisting there’re more cost-effective ways to boost Kyiv’s air defences.
But F-16s fighters now appear likely to join the list of advanced systems, including Western tanks and long and small-range weaponry, that Ukraine’s supporters have agreed to provide after initial reluctance.
President Biden told G7 leaders in Japan that Washington would now help the request, which President Zelensky hailed as a “historic decision.”
The pair would meet in Hiroshima to discuss the “practical implementation” of the plan, President Zelensky said, with the White House saying President Biden was “looking forward” to the negotiations without confirming a date.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan insisted the fighter jet decision did not reflect an about-turn in US policy.
“Nothing has changed. Our approach to providing weapons, material, and training to the Ukrainians has followed the difficulties of the tussle,” he told reporters in Hiroshima.
“We have reached a moment where it’s time to look down the road and to say, ‘What is Ukraine going to need… to be able to deter and defend against Russian aggression?’
“F-16s, fighter jets fourth-generation fighter aircraft, are part of that mix. The obvious first step is to do the training and then to work with partners, partners, and the Ukrainians to determine how to do the provision points as we move forward.”
