It’s safe to say that Volodymyr Zelensky has stolen the show at G7 with his surprise visit to Hiroshima.
For the past 24 hours, the “will he or won’t he” drama over his trip to Japan has dominated the news cycle. News of his possible visit broke on Friday and stole the limelight just as leaders visited a peace memorial park in Hiroshima.
But even as news outlets scrambled to confirm it, there were confusing signals from Ukrainian officials. First they indicated he was staying in Kyiv and patching in by video-link as planned, then said he was coming, then said he was staying.
It was perhaps a sign that, while his visit was reportedly mooted weeks ago in chats between Zelensky and Japanese PM Fumio Kishida, the final decision was made abruptly.
Nobody was sure when he would arrive, until live vision of his French plane touching down at Hiroshima airport suddenly flashed on TVs here in the G7 media centre, sending a frisson of excitement among the press pack.
Now that he is here, his star power adds a zing to the placid diplomatic proceedings – maybe even threatens to overshadow it. But it is unlikely the G7 leaders will mind. After all, the Ukraine war was going to be top of the agenda of the summit.
Their sanctions so far have failed to stop Russia’s invasion, and Friday’s pledge to “starve” Russia of resources for its “war machine” remains vague.
But with the optics of world leaders literally standing shoulder to shoulder with Zelensky, as they pledge to aid him with his request of a “coalition of jets”, the calculation is to send a firm message to Moscow: We mean business.