Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has expressed the country’s readiness to allocate approximately $4.5 billion for Ukraine’s reconstruction efforts once the current military crisis with Russia concludes. This announcement was made during the G7 virtual summit chaired by Japan, which also saw the participation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky remotely, as reported by the Japanese agency Kyodo and Ukraine’s Ukrinform.
According to Ukrinform, Prime Minister Kishida, representing the G7’s presidency this year, informed the summit of Tokyo’s willingness to provide an additional $4.5 billion to assist war-torn Ukraine in recovery efforts.
The virtual G7 summit, chaired by Japan on Wednesday, also discussed imposing restrictions on Russian diamonds by January 2024, aiming to reduce Moscow’s revenues from this trade. The G7 leaders will continue to support President Zelensky’s peace-building initiative, named “Peace Formula,” emphasizing the importance of reducing conflicts and protecting civilians in Gaza, as stated in their online summit declaration. The declaration affirmed their commitment to supporting an independent, democratic Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.
In his address, President Zelensky reiterated his call for continued support from the G7, stating, “Russia hopes for only one thing – the collapse of the free world’s consolidation next year.” He added that Russia believes the US and Europe will show weakness and not maintain their appropriate level of support for Ukraine.
As part of these efforts, the G7 will impose restrictions on the import of “non-industrial diamonds extracted, processed, or produced in Russia,” followed by phased restrictions on Russian diamond imports processed in third countries.
Regarding the Middle East situation, the statement mentioned the urgent need for action to address the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Gaza and reduce civilian casualties. The statement by Kyodo also noted the G7’s renewed commitment to advancing international discussions on artificial intelligence, although the methods and policy tools to achieve the shared goal of promoting trustworthy AI may vary among the G7 members.
