Zelensky on way to attend Arab League Summit in Jeddah

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
19 May 2023 11:02
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It is reported that after visiting the Arab League summit, the Ukrainian president will be arriving in Hiroshima to partake in the G7 summit via a US military aircraft.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during an interview with Reuters in Ukraine, on March 1, 2022 (Reuters)

Reuters reported on Friday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is on his way aboard a French plane to attend the Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia after an invitation from the host.

The summit is scheduled to be held in Jeddah on Friday, where Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is reportedly expected to discuss with Zelenksy the Ukrainian conflict and means to end the war, mainly through dialogue between Moscow and Kiev.

Riyadh has offered several times to mediate between both countries. Last year Saudi Arabia said it played a role in Russia's release of 10 war prisoners consisting of 10 foreign fighters.

DPA cited German Foreign Minister Anna Baerbock saying that Zelensky's invitation to attend the summit is of great significance, as the FM further stressed that the "brutal Russian war" on Ukraine has affected the Arab world as well.

Citing individuals familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported that Zelensky will then attend the G7 summit in Japan in person, by arriving aboard a US military aircraft.

According to the Japanese news agency Kyodo on Thursday, referencing the Japanese government, Zelensky was supposed to be partaking via video on Sunday and was also supposed to participate in the Ukraine crisis discussion on Friday but was rescheduled.

It also reported that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida invited Zelensky during his visit to Kiev in back in March to attend the high-level summit being held in the city of Hiroshima from May 19-21 which will center in on the Ukraine conflict, China, economic security, and green investments.

G7 leaders are scheduled to visit on Saturday the city's Peace Memorial Museum, which showcases the atrocities of the nuclear attack launched by the US, which killed around 140,000 people between the dropping of the bomb and the months following it.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has declared that President Joe Biden will not be apologizing for the US' use of an atomic bomb against Japan during his visit to the G7 summit, adding that he "won't be making a statement at the Peace Memorial Park. He'll be participating with the other G7 leaders in a wreath-laying and a few other events. But this is not, from his perspective, a bilateral moment. This is him, as one of the G7 leaders, coming to pay respects".

Hiroshima's nuclear bomb killed 140,000 people, while that of Nagasaki killed around 74,000 people, on the last days of World War II.