Ministry of Defence of the World

The G7 summit ended in Hiroshima, Japan and turned out to be just a gift to conspiracy theorists who used to call the Group of Seven the World Government. Although this time, the Seven can rather be called the Ministry of Defence of the World. Too many global challenges have accumulated before the next meeting of the Heads of the G7.

The Big Seven summits usually cause scepticism in each of us. As a rule, it was pathetic, boring and indecently wasteful. For this reason, leftists, eco-activists and just radicals were actively swarming around the events, accusing the G7 of claiming the role of World Government, accusing it of environmental irresponsibility and other sins.

But not this time. Because the aggression of the Russian Federation in a neighbouring country has put the world on the brink of World War III. Because the Kremlin's resentment about the collapse of the USSR provoked phantom geopolitical pains many thousands of kilometres from Moscow, for example, Taiwan. The world is pretty scared of the return of talk about the "nuclear baton" as a tool of diplomacy.

Something had to be done about it. Therefore, the G7 Summit focused its attention on the problem of preserving peace and the primacy of international law. Moreover, as key tools, they demonstrated support for Ukraine in its repulse of aggression from Russia, as well as building new bridges with the Global South.

Japan, the host of the Summit, solved its own problems too. Tokyo has drawn attention to the risks that stem from North Korea's nuclear ambitions, as well as from Beijing's claims to force decisions against Taipei. In addition, the fact that the Summit was held in Hiroshima allowed Prime Minister Kishida Fumio to get a lot of domestic political points. Because his home constituency is located in this region, and Kishida's popularity has sunk somewhat recently against the background of his economic reforms. The summit helped revive his popularity, sociologists said.

Kyiv Benefit

The visit of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy was kept secret literally until the last day, promising only an online speech. Volodymyr Zelenskyy flew to Hiroshima from Saudi Arabia, where he participated in the Arab League summit. This visit is a strong signal to the Global South, with which the Kremlin is flirting with might and main.

Moreover, Moscow continues to flirt with Beijing with might and main. So active that in March 2023, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited Kyiv simultaneously with the landmark visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Moscow. Perhaps as a balancing signal that not only the Kremlin has partners.

Now Zelenskyy's visit to Japan is quite symbolic. According to the laws of the genre, the direct participation of the Ukrainian President in the Summit and his bilateral negotiations with representatives of the G7 and the countries of the Global South will allow at least a few months to keep the Ukrainian issue in the spotlight of the world media. However, this is not the only result of his visit to Hiroshima.

Direct communication with the leaders of the Western world allowed Volodymyr Zelenskyy to achieve the launch of a "Fighter Coalition". Yes, so far we are talking only about Ukrainian pilots training on F-16. However, it looks very likely that the next sequel to Top Gun will be filmed over the steppes of Donbas, or even over the mountains of Crimea.

However, the idea of a "Peace Summit", which Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposes to coincide with 500 days since the beginning of a large-scale Russian invasion, is still hanging in the air. The July Western leaders' schedules are focused on the NATO Summit in Vilnius on July 11-12, 2023.

Perhaps for this reason, the Big Seven limited themselves to approving the Ukrainian peace plan and did not force the creation of an international tribunal for Russian war crimes. However, Volodymyr Zelenskyy received assurances of continued use of the formula "No negotiations on Ukraine without Ukraine's participation". And Zelenskyy has been invited to take part in the NATO Summit in Vilnius since April.

In general, the G7 Summit was filled with a variety of symbols. It clearly outlined its position in relation to the Russian-Ukrainian war. In the Summit's communique, published by the Japanese Foreign Ministry, there was a place for a statement about readiness for complete nuclear disarmament (the symbolism of Hiroshima in this matter is obvious), support for transformations in Ukraine and its post-war reconstruction.

But not only that.

The Group of Seven also rebuked China for militarization of the South China Sea, economic coercion of developing countries and the desire to impose their own rules on others.

New Reality

Simultaneously with the G7 Summit, the China-Central Asia Summit was held in Xi'an (China). After it, the position of the Big Seven was demonstratively outraged. Beijing's displeasure was caused by the invitation of Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Hiroshima. Chinese leaders see increased support for Ukraine in this step, which knocks out Beijing's chances of a spectacular peace-making game.

In response to signals from the G7 Summit, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia announced the so-called "degradation of the G7". Why such resentment? Because the West has finally lost its illusions about the Kremlin's ability to negotiate. Well, welcome to the new world reality.

Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio hinted at this reality at the end of the Summit. Both on his own behalf and on behalf of the G7 as a whole. What was most important?

* The G7 has sent a message to the world about the importance of maintaining a free and open international order based on the rule of law. Which means a strong disapproval of any aggressive actions – even in Ukraine, even anywhere else.

* The Group of Seven intends to deepen participation in the Global South — a group of developing countries. But this already means “hello” to the PRC, which, not particularly hiding, demonstrated its claims to dominance in this community.

* The Group of Seven has published the "Hiroshima Vision" — the first document of the group devoted exclusively to nuclear disarmament. This initiative was proposed, first, by Japan itself. This is the first multilateral document in many decades focused on the idea of the complete abandonment of nuclear weapons.

* Finally, Kishida opened the door for mainland China to return to a more constructive position. He said that China should act as a responsible member of the international community, and Japan is ready to cooperate to build stable ties through dialogue. If this is not an invitation to renounce support for Russia in its aggression and to renounce dominance in the Global South, then what is it?

Visit to Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park