The results of the summit of the G7 countries: was it possible to open the eyes of Putin’s most ardent supporters?

The United States and its allies recognize the need for countries in their camps that still have warm feelings towards Moscow and Beijing. “Bloomberg” believes that the G7 countries are starting to think seriously about this task, but it is too early to talk about success.

Another meeting of the G7 heads of state was held in Japan on 20 and 21 May. The unexpected arrival of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gave him the opportunity to address the leaders of developing countries attending the summit. It is these countries that have hitherto taken a neutral, and sometimes even indifferent, position regarding the war launched by Russia in Ukraine.

The most important guests were Brazilian President Lula da Silva, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indonesian President Joko Widodo, which is home to a quarter of the world’s population.

These leaders spoke of peace in general, but did not support the position of the G7 countries on Ukraine. In fact, a Brazilian official stated that “G7 countries hinder peace efforts because they are on the side of the conflict.”

It is interesting that French President Emmanuel Macron tried to explain to his Brazilian counterpart that Russia is both the aggressor and the victim in its war against Ukraine, but Lula’s position has not changed. He did not expect Zelensky to arrive, but Brazilian officials described the last-minute meeting with Zelensky as a possible “trap”. It is worth remembering that Lula blamed the United States for the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, who was accused of serious crimes before, for starting a war in Ukraine.

Nor were there any signs that Lula would approach the leaders of the G7 countries.

Ignoring the issues of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, it focused more on how to help Putin get out of his predicament and avoid escalation.

Lula, who did not meet with Zelenskiy again “due to the delay of the Ukrainian president”, declared that Indonesian President Widodo supported Brazil’s stance on Ukraine.

“I am tired of repeating that we need to talk about peace. No decision will be implemented that is not based on dialogue. We must work to create a positive space for negotiations,” he said.

Like Widodo, Indian Prime Minister Modi met with Zelenskyi for the first time, and both leaders stressed to the Ukrainian president that they “strongly support dialogue and diplomatic efforts to find a way out of the conflict.” It is unknown whether Indian Prime Minister Modi accepted Zelensky’s invitation to visit Ukraine.

A British official said the G7’s efforts to bring together the leaders of Southern Hemisphere countries were generally positive, but no one expected them to suddenly change their stance towards Russia. According to him, this summit initiated a successful dialogue with developing countries and dealt a decisive blow to the rhetoric of Russia and China, which are fiercely hostile to the West.

The long-term goal of the G7 leaders is to punish Russia for its aggression against neighboring countries. But this is a very difficult task, so the guests of the summit were not insisted on condemning Putin’s actions, but stressed that the rules “do not occupy the neighbor” should be followed.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said US President Joe Biden’s meetings with Lula, Modi and others emphasized the constructive role these leaders can play in promoting national sovereignty and territorial integrity, an inalienable and inviolable part of the UN Charter.

This strategy is supported by other leaders, who stress that no decision will be valid unless Russia withdraws its troops from foreign lands.

“What is needed is peace, not a ceasefire. There will be peace only when Russia stops invading an independent neighboring country,” said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “It is important for everyone to understand that we must not allow the conflict to freeze and Russia to leave the occupied territory,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said after meeting with Lulu. Later, Scholz added, Brazil and India understood that Russia was the aggressor and Ukraine was the victim.

It is difficult to say that the public discourse of leaders in general has changed. In his speech after meeting with Modi, Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishda stated that the principles of the indivisibility of the land should be supported. Modi said it was only after this meeting that “modern regional development” was discussed, but that the main emphasis was on “paying attention to the priorities of Southern Hemisphere countries”.

The paper adopted at the end of the summit outlines several future tasks – keeping the promise of $600 billion to develop infrastructure in developing countries, allocating $100 billion a year to mitigate the risks posed by climate change. Multilateral development banks also need to be reformed and other problems to be resolved.

Zelensky told reporters that his meetings with the G7 and Arab League leaders were crucial to countering Russia’s decades-long information war.