The situation in war-torn Ukraine is one of the main topics at the G7 summit in Italian Apulia, which is now underway.
US President Joe Biden is expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the second time in a short period.
They last met in Normandy at the D-Day commemoration last week. Now, Biden and Zelensky will have another chance to meet, at the G7 summit in Apulia. However, the Ukrainian presidential administration has not confirmed that Zelensky will be physically present, leaving open the possibility that his participation may take place remotely.
One question to be discussed and explored at the economic powerhouse club's summit is how to use frozen Russian assets to the benefit of Ukraine. When the G7 finance ministers met in May, progress was announced, but the participants failed to reach an agreement on the issue.
Zelensky will, among other things, raise the need for further support to the Ukrainian defence, an international fighter jet coalition, and the acceleration of F-16 deliveries to Ukraine, according to information from his spokesperson.
Also attending the meeting are the leaders of the G7 countries, France, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the host country, Italy, as well as EU leaders Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel.
Pope Francis will also make a guest appearance. He will contribute an ethical perspective on AI development, a topic that the G7 countries have discussed in ministerial meetings over the past few months, according to NPR. This is the first time the Pope has participated in a G7 summit.
The G7 group consists of the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, and Italy.
Russia joined the G7 group in 1997, and the group was renamed G8. In March 2014, the original countries in the group agreed to exclude Russia due to the country's invasion and annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in Ukraine.
Fact: National Encyclopedia
