Ukraine’s Zelenskyy warns diplomacy in ‘crisis’ after Trump’s early G7 exit

Following the warning that “diplomacy is now in a crisis,” Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, the Group of Seven summit in Canada was about to end without leaders issuing a joint statement in support of Ukraine.

The culmination of the world’s largest industrial democracies, which ended late on Tuesday in the Canadian Rocky Mountain resort of Kananaskis, was intended to demonstrate unity on pressing global issues.

In a sign of growing divisions within the organization as global crises escalate, the group was unable to issue a statement in support of the troubled Western ally, unlike in previous years, when the group had jointly denounced Russian “aggression” against Ukraine.

On the final day of the conference, Zelenskyy met with NATO’s Mark Rutte, the leader of Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan. However, President Donald Trump, the group’s most powerful member, did not have a meeting with him after he left the summit a day early to address Washington’s ongoing hostility against Israel.

According to a post on his official Telegram account, Zelenskyy stated after the meeting that he had informed the remaining G7 leaders that “diplomacy is now in a state of crisis” and that he should continue pressing Trump to use his “real influence” to push for the end of the conflict.

Retracted US resistance statement

Plans for a joint statement on Ukraine were initially abandoned after a Canadian official encountered resistance from the US, which wanted to slam the content, according to reports from news agencies.

However, Canada’s prime minister’s spokesperson, Emily Williams, later later retract the briefing statement and claim that “no proposed statement regarding Ukraine was distributed to other leaders,” according to reports from media outlets.

Due to Trump’s desire to continue negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a Canadian official, there has never been a joint statement on Ukraine.

Under the condition of anonymity, the official stated, “It was clear that it would not have been possible to find detailed language that all G7 partners could accept.”

Trump claimed on Monday that it had been a mistake to expel Moscow from what was formerly the G8 in response to its 2014 invasion and annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea, underscoring the differences in views within the group.

Canada pledges military support.

Zelenskyy had contacted the summit to request support from the allies of Ukraine and expressed his willingness to engage in peace negotiations.

He declared, “We are prepared for the peace negotiations and an unconditional ceasefire.” However, we require pressure for this.

He left with a promise from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to give Kyiv new military support of $2 billion ($1.47 billion) and impose new sanctions on Russia.

Before departing, Trump did agree to a group statement calling for an end to the Israeli-Iranian conflict. The statement, which was released on Monday, praised Israel, claiming that Iran is the primary cause of regional hostility and terrorism, and that Israel has the right to defend itself.