G7 ends with Ukraine in focus as Zelensky meets world leaders

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky huddled with some of his biggest backers as the Group of Seven summit closed in Hiroshima on Sunday building momentum for his countryrsquos war effort even as Russia claimed a symbolic victory on the battlefieldThe Ukrainian leaderrsquos inperson appearance underscored the centrality of the war for the G7 bloc of rich democracies It also stole much of the limelight from other priorities including security challenges in Asia and outreach to the developing world that the leaders focused on at the threeday gatheringldquoG7 reaffirmed our commitment to continue our strong backing for Ukraine from every possible dimensionrdquo Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Zelensky held two major rounds of meetings on Sunday and held oneonone talks with several of the leadersAlso Read PM strongly calls for reform of the UNBakhmut is only in our hearts says ZelenskyUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that Bakhmut was ldquoonly in our heartsrdquo hours after Russiarsquos defense ministry reported that forces of the Wagner private army with the support of Russian troops had seized the city in eastern UkraineSpeaking alongside US President Joe Biden at the G7 summit in Hiroshima Zelensky said the Russians had destroyed ldquoeverythingrdquo ldquoYou have to understand that there is nothingrdquo he said ldquoFor today Bakhmut is only in our heartsrdquo he said ldquoThere is nothing in this placerdquoFresh sanctions to be slapped against RussiaThe Group of Seven G7 advanced economies are expected to announce a new set of sanctions against Russia to try to further hinder its war effort in Ukraine during their summit in Hiroshima JapanRussia is now the mostsanctioned country in the world but there are questions about their effectiveness EU Council President Charles Michel said the plan was to close loopholes and ensure the sanctions are painful for Russia not for the countries enforcing themlsquoSituation in Ukraine a human rights issue not politicsrsquoPrime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday said he views the current situation in Ukraine as an issue of humanity and human values and not of politics or economy even as he called for respecting international law sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nationsIn an address at a G7 session in Hiroshima Modi pitched for raising voice collectively against unilateral attempts to change the status quo asserting that any dispute should be resolved peacefully through dialogueChina urged to press Russia to end warThe G7 group united in urging China to pressure its strategic partner Russia to end its war on Ukraine and resolve territorial disputes peacefullyIn a joint statement the G7 leaders emphasised they did not want to harm China and were seeking ldquoconstructive and stable relationsrdquo with Beijing ldquorecognising the importance of engaging candidly with and expressing our concerns directly to ChinardquoldquoWe call on China to press Russia to stop its military aggression and immediately completely and unconditionally withdraw its troops from Ukrainerdquo said the statement SaturdayThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever