BORGO EGNAZIA: A Group of Seven summit opened on Thursday with a pact reached on a US proposal to back a $50 billion loan to Ukraine using frozen Russian assets as collateral, giving Kyiv a strong show of support even as Europe’s political chessboard shifts to the right.
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni welcomed the heads of state of the G7 leading industrialised nations to a luxury resort in southern Italy, saying she wanted the message of the meeting to be one of dialogue with the global south and unity. She likened the G7 to the ancient olive trees that are a symbol of the Puglia region, “with their solid roots, and branches projected toward the future”.
Beyond discussions on Ukraine, the war in Gaza and China’s industrial policy, Pope Francis will become the first pope to address a G7 summit, adding a dash of celebrity and moral authority to the annual gathering. He’ll be speaking on Friday about the promises and perils of artificial intelligence, but is expected to also renew his appeal for a peaceful end to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The G7 includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. Italy, which is hosting the summit, has invited several African leaders Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Kenyan President William Ruto and Tunisian President Kis Saied to press Meloni’s development and migration initiatives on the continent.
Other guests include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, fresh off his own election, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
With Biden, UK PM Rishi Sunak and now French President Emmanuel Macron facing poll in the coming months, pressure was on the G7 to get done what it can while the status quo lasts.