Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will attend the Group of Seven (G7) Hiroshima summit this weekend, Ukrainian and Western officials said, putting fresh pressure on Russia against the backdrop of a city synonymous with the horrors of nuclear war.
SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE
* G7 leaders said they had ensured that Ukraine had the budget support it needs for this year and early 2024. "Today we are taking new steps to ensure that Russia’s illegal aggression against the sovereign state of Ukraine fails and to support the Ukrainian people in their quest for a just peace rooted in respect for international law," they said in a statement.
* A French government plane is taking Zelenskiy to the Arab League Summit in Saudi Arabia and will later take him to the G7 leaders' summit in Hiroshima, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
* The United States and the rest of the "Group of Seven" major economies will unveil new sanctions and export controls targeting Russia over its war against Ukraine, a U.S. official said ahead of the summit.
* Ukraine wants its allies to be bolder in imposing sanctions on Russia, including by targeting banks that provide financial services to serving soldiers, a senior adviser told Reuters.
* German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his government wanted pragmatic measures to prevent the circumvention of sanctions imposed on Russia, appearing to temper U.S. calls for a more wide-ranging ban on exports.
* The leaders will discuss how to trace the trade in Russian diamonds with the aim of imposing restrictions at a later stage, an EU official said.
* Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak plans to announce a ban on Russian diamonds and imports of metals from Russia including copper, aluminium and nickel in support for Ukraine, his government said in a statement.
DEALING WITH CHINA
* U.S. President Joe Biden met Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida after arriving in Japan and the two discussed ways to strengthen defence cooperation and counter coercive behaviour by China, the White House said in a statement.
* China is gravely concerned about recent signs of "negative" China-related moves at the G7 Summit and urges Japan not to turn it into a "political show" against or to curb China, the country's embassy in Japan said.
* European Council President Charles Michel said it was in the EU's interest to maintain "stable and constructive" cooperation with China. Speaking on the sidelines of the summit, Michel added that the EU would call on China to step up pressure on Russia to stop its military aggression in Ukraine.
* Divisions within the G7 appear to be the most notable over China, multiple officials told Reuters, with countries grappling on how to warn against what they see as China's threat to global supply chains and economic security without completely alienating a powerful and important trade partner.
JAPAN'S BILATERALS
* Japan and France said they wanted to deepen bilateral cooperation after agreeing earlier this month to accelerate discussions for a joint military exercise framework with Paris hoping to push for reciprocal access agreements.
* South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will hold a summit with Kishida on May 21, Yoon's office said. The announcement comes as the two countries seek to mend diplomatic ties marred by Japan's colonial past.
* Kishida said he expected additional investment from global chipmakers into Japan after meeting with top executives ahead of the G7 summit.
CLIMATE CHANGE AND CHIPS
* Rich nations should boost financial and technical support to poorer countries to help them tackle climate change and achieve similar decarbonisation goals, a senior Japanese environment ministry official said ahead of a G7 summit in Hiroshima.
* G7 rich nations should work together to access technology and secure sources of critical minerals for a green transition, creating additional manufacturing capacity rather than competition, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the summit.
IN-DEPTH STORIES
* At Hiroshima G7, bomb survivors grapple with a disarmament dream deferred
* In her own words: A Hiroshima bomb survivor learns English to tell her story
* Japan's G7 refugee balancing act: door open for Ukrainians, but not many others
(Compiled by Reuters editors)
