Zelensky Pushes New Arms Package Discussion With Trump At G7

With things blowing up in the Middle East over the last four days, it’s easy to forget that there’s a whole war still raging with no end in sight in Eastern Europe, with the latest reports pointing to a continued Russian ground advance in eastern Ukraine.

High on the agenda on President Trump’s schedule for the G7 Summit in Canada this week is a confirmed bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. 

The Ukrainian leader is expected to press for more weapons packages…

“Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday said that he will discuss buying US weapons with Donald Trump at the G7 summit, but added that US military aid was not on the agenda,” AFP reports.

“We are not talking to America today about new assistance. Indeed, one of the issues I will discuss with President Trump at the meeting is the defense package that Ukraine is ready to buy,” Zelensky said,

It seems Zelensky is taking a bit of a ‘humbler’ approach, and is no longer framing statements as demands of free arms and ammo, as he has previously done on many occasions.

While the G7 is expected to issue a condemnation aimed at Russia on the Ukraine war, the questions of a potential statement on the Israel-Iran war is more open.

So far a draft statement calls for general de-escalation of the conflict: 

Group of Seven leaders have a draft joint statement calling for deescalation of the Israel-Iran conflict, according to two sources and a draft seen by Reuters.

U.S. President Donald Trump has not signed off on the draft however, the sources said. The draft commits to safeguarding market stability, including energy markets, and says Israel has the right to defend itself.

Safeguarding energy market stability? This as oil depots and energy points of export get bombed repeatedly by Israeli warplanes.

There have been unverified reports that the Iranians are seeking to re-engage negotiations with Washington over nuclear issues. But all signs for now are that this deadly aerial war over the Middle East shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.