The impasse between the west and the rest

In Hiroshima, two issues dominated the minds of western leaders: how to end the war in Ukraine and impose peace on Russia; and how to convince the global south that a subsequent new world order can be shaped in their interests

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IN THE HORRIFIC SHADOW OF A PAST NUCLEAR HOLOCAUST, the leaders of the G7 group of wealthiest nations met in Hiroshima in Japan last weekend to discuss war: how to prosecute one in Ukraine and how to prevent one with  China.

Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, once described the G7 as the coordinating committee of the free world, and never has there been such a need for such coordination. It was only in October that Joe Biden warned that the risk of a nuclear Armageddon was at its highest in 60 years.

The chance of Vladimir Putin resorting to nuclear weapons appears to have receded since then, partly due to Chinese warnings to the Kremlin, but few can predict how Russia will react if Ukraine’s counteroffensive succeeds.

A lightning visit by Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to four G7 countries – Italy, Germany, France and the UK – was followed by a surprise appearance at the G7 itself. Zelenskiy has been seeking wider support for a 10-point peace plan that demands that Russian forces retreat from Ukraine before any negotiations can begin.

The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said the message from Ukraine and its G7 allies was clear: “Russia must withdraw troops.” Any peace plan, he said, “can’t simply be linked to a freeze of the conflict. Russia should not bet that if it holds out long enough, it will end up weakening support for Ukraine.”

Zelenskiy secured fresh US military aid worth up to $375m to Kyiv. The US president, Joe Biden, told Zelenskiy that Washington was doing everything possible to strengthen Ukraine’s defences in its war with Russia.