Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that he intends to speak with U.S. President Donald Trump about acquiring additional weapons for Ukraine.
Zelenskyy, who is visiting Austria, would attend the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Canada on Tuesday, where he hopes to meet Trump on the sidelines of the meeting.
“One of the questions that I will discuss with President Trump during the meeting is the defence package that Ukraine is ready to buy,” Zelenskyy told a news conference in Vienna.
President Zelenskyy and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will attend the G7 summit on Tuesday. European officials said they hoped to use the meeting, and next week’s NATO summit, to convince Trump to toughen his stance on Putin.
Annual Talks Of G7 Nations
Leaders from the G7 nations begin annual talks on Monday amid wars in Ukraine and the Middle East that add to global economic uncertainty, as host Canada tries to avoid a clash with U.S. President Donald Trump.
The G7 leaders from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the U.S., along with the European Union, are convening in the resort of Kananaskis in the Canadian Rockies until Tuesday.
But beyond the serene and picturesque mountain setting, they confront challenges. The first five months of Trump’s second term upended foreign policy on Ukraine, raised anxiety over his closer ties to Russia and resulted in tariffs on U.S. allies.
With an escalating Israel-Iran conflict, which is spiking global oil prices, the summit in Canada is seen as a vital moment to try and restore a semblance of unity between democratic powerhouses.
“The most important goal will be for the world’s seven largest industrial nations to reach agreement and take action,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said before attending his first G7.
That will not be easy. After years of consensus, the traditional allies have scrambled to keep Trump engaged and maintain unity.
(With inputs from Reuters)
