On the morning of 16 June, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived at the venue of the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Évian-les-Bains, on the shores of Lake Geneva in France. There, he has already held a brief informal meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, according to the Ukrainian president’s spokesperson, Serhiy Nikiforov.
According to the spokesperson, following this meeting, Zelenskyy is taking part in a special G7-Ukraine session.
The Ukrainian president also has bilateral meetings scheduled with summit participants: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, and UK Prime Minister Starmer.
As Nikiforov reported, there will also be other meetings, details of which will be announced closer to the scheduled time.
President Zelenskyy had previously stated that he planned to meet with US President Donald Trump during the G7 summit in France.
On 14 June, Trump’s birthday, Zelenskyy had a telephone conversation with him, during which, in his words, the parties “discussed many key issues in considerable detail”.
“I wished President Trump success, first and foremost in his efforts to end Russia’s war against Ukraine. I also thanked him for all the support America is providing to Ukraine,” he said.
Zelenskyy also briefed his American counterpart on the latest developments on the battlefield and changes in Ukraine’s position: “We agreed to discuss this further during our meeting at the G7 summit. We have some good ideas that could help bring peace closer and protect lives.”
Prior to this, Bloomberg, citing sources, reported that the leaders of major European countries at the G7 (G7) summit in France intend to try to persuade US President Donald Trump to agree to a new approach to negotiations with Russia on ending its war against Ukraine.
Emmanuel Macron, Friedrich Merz and Keir Starmer, the article claims, believe that the initiative in the war has now shifted to Ukraine, and this opens a window of opportunity for negotiations with Russia on terms more favourable to Ukraine than before.