Global Courant 2023-05-18 14:55:44
The talks will focus on Russia’s war against Ukraine, nuclear disarmament, artificial intelligence, climate change and economic security.
Hiroshima, Japan — U.S. President Joe Biden has arrived for a Group of Seven summit that will be dominated by Russia’s war against Ukraine and concerns about China’s rising power and influence.
During the Hiroshima talks, Biden is expected to convene the G7 countries to step up pressure on Moscow to end the war in Ukraine and join his administration’s efforts to push back against Beijing.
Biden began his talks with the host of the summit, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, ahead of the opening of the three-day summit on Thursday night.
Kishida will officially welcome G7 leaders Friday to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, which marks the site of the first detonation of a nuclear bomb.
The members of the G7 – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the US – are expected to announce new sanctions against Russia and measures to address economic coercion by China at the high-profile annual meeting, which will also take place online attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The longest and largest developed economies in the world are also expected to discuss nuclear disarmament, artificial intelligence, climate change, economic security and enhanced cooperation with developing countries.
While the G7 is expected to step up pressure on Moscow and Beijing, there are divisions between the countries over how far punitive measures should go.
Japan and European countries are seen as unwilling to cut trade with Russia and China to the extent Washington prefers.
Japan and European countries last month rejected a US proposal to effectively ban Russian exports, calling it unrealistic, the Financial Times reported.
European diplomats have also reportedly expressed concern over proposals to permanently close natural gas pipelines that Russia shut down after last year’s invasion of Ukraine.
Biden is attending the G7 summit after canceling visits to Papua New Guinea and Australia so he can return to the US early to attend negotiations with Congress on raising the US government’s debt ceiling.
