US does not want to name Russia as aggressor in G7 statement on anniversary of invasion

For the first time, the United States is allegedly opposed to directly calling Russia the aggressor in a joint statement by the G7 leaders, timed to coincide with the third anniversary of the full-scale war. In addition, the participation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the virtual summit of the Group of Seven has not yet been agreed.

The Financial Times reports this, citing its sources.

According to five anonymous interlocutors of the publication, the American side is against using traditional wording in the statement, such as «Russian aggression».

«We firmly insist that we need to distinguish between Russia and Ukraine. Because they are not «the same». The Americans are blocking this wording, but we are still working on it and hope to reach an agreement», said one of the interlocutors.

In addition, Volodymyr Zelenskyy's participation in the virtual summit of the Group of Seven «leaders», scheduled for Monday, 24 February, has not yet been agreed upon.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump said that Russia has «trumps» in any peace talks to end the war in Ukraine, as it «captured a large territory».

Peace talks

Earlier, Donald Trump stated that the United States was conducting constructive negotiations on a full-scale war with Ukraine and the Russian Federation. In particular, he expressed hope that an agreement would be reached as soon as possible.

He also claimed that Washington had already made some progress in negotiations to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

In addition, Donald Trump indicated that his administration had already held discussions with Moscow, but did not specify who participated in such a dialogue. Also, during his phone conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump never said that Europe needs a seat at the table in negotiations on Ukraine.

Earlier, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that negotiations between the United States and Russia to end the war without Kyiv's participation pose a threat to everyone.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy also noted that he was ready to sit down with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin for the sake of peace, despite his hostile attitude. He also added that he did not see a ready-made peace plan from Trump, but conveyed his readiness to negotiate.

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was ready to «allocate people» to negotiate with Ukraine to end the war. At the same time, he called any such talks «illegitimate».

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine does not recognise the loss of its territories, but is ready for diplomatic solutions to return them if it becomes a NATO member.