Zelenskyy meets Modi and G7 leaders after arriving in Hiroshima

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Hiroshima on Saturday afternoon for the Group of Seven leaders summit — his first trip to Asia since Russia's invasion began in February last year — holding talks with G7 leaders and summit invitees.

Zelenskyy got off to a fast start on his visit, avoiding a potentially awkward encounter with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi — among the guest leaders invited to the summit — with the two holding amicable talks in the evening.

Modi has maintained close economic ties with Moscow and has taken a more neutral stance on the invasion of Ukraine, but the Indian leader wrote on Twitter that he had conveyed New Delhi's "clear support for dialogue and diplomacy to find a way forward."

The Ukrainian leader later held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, who told Zelenskyy that his presence at the G7 summit is a "unique opportunity" to "express your situation, convey your message and share your view" with leaders such as Modi and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who also has taken a more neutral stance on the war in Ukraine.

"I do believe that it can be a game changer," Macron said.

Zelenskyy also held talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

The Ukrainian leader's arrival at Hiroshima Airport at around 3:30 p.m. was broadcast live on many Japanese TV channels, with images showing a large security presence as Zelenskyy exited the aircraft to a red carpet, where he was greeted by a retinue of officials.

"Japan. G7. Important meetings with partners and friends of Ukraine. Security and enhanced cooperation for our victory. Peace will become closer today," he wrote on Twitter after making the nearly 9,000-kilometer journey to Hiroshima on a French military jet from the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah.

The previously unannounced trip to the atomic-bombed city was highly symbolic amid Russia's nuclear saber-rattling and threats to use the weapons in the war in Ukraine. Zelenskyy had been expected to participate in the summit via videoconference.

On Sunday, the Ukrainian leader will join G7 leaders for a session related to the war, and is also scheduled to take part in a separate session on peace and stability involving the leaders and those from the eight other nonmembers invited as guests, according to the Japanese government.

He will also hold bilateral talks the same day with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on the sidelines of the summit.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told a news conference Saturday morning that it was also a "safe bet" that U.S. President Joe Biden would meet the Ukrainian leader.

Japanese media reported that Zelenskyy was also considering visiting Hiroshima Memorial Peace Park to pay respects to victims of the atomic bombing and tour the memorial museum during his trip. G7 leaders on Friday visited the site, spoke with a survivor of the 1945 atomic bombing and were guided by Kishida through vivid exhibits displaying the horrors of nuclear weapons.

Touring the museum in the atomic-bombed city would be a highly symbolic move following numerous fiery threats by top Russian officials to use nuclear weapons in the Ukraine conflict, including one in March by former Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who said that Western arms shipments to Kyiv were bringing “nuclear apocalypse” closer.

G7 leaders on Friday agreed on a fresh set of measures to rein in Moscow’s “war machine” and “increase the costs to Russia and those who are supporting its war effort.”

Zelenskyy's visit comes on the heels of a White House announcement that it would allow allied countries to supply Ukraine with U.S.-built F-16 fighter jets — a move Kyiv has long pushed for as it seeks more modern aircraft to replace its aging Soviet-era fleet.

Biden had previously said the U.S. would not approve transfers over fears of provoking Russia. But Sullivan looked to tamp down those fears Saturday, saying that the F-16 transfers would not upset the balance Washington has sought in supporting Kyiv "in a way that avoids World War III."

He said the powerful fourth-generation fighter aircraft would only be used by Ukraine for defense, with Kyiv pledging to keep with the U.S. policy of "not enabling or supporting attacks on Russian territory."

Zelenskyy welcomed the decision, writing on Twitter that "this will greatly enhance our army in the sky. I count on discussing the practical implementation of this decision at the #G7 summit in Hiroshima."

The Ukrainian president recently wrapped up a tour of the European G7 members, confirming their support ahead of a highly anticipated counteroffensive. Zelenskyy is widely believed to be looking to solidify territorial gains in order to use that as leverage in any eventual peace talks with the Russian side.

The visit by Zelenskyy will be a diplomatic coup for Kishida, who in March became the final G7 leader to travel to Kyiv for a meeting with the wartime president. The Japanese leader has seen his approval rating jump after a spate of foreign policy wins, including efforts to repair ties with neighbor South Korea.