FT: US refuses to label Russia as aggressor in G7 statement

The U.S. has refused to label Russia as an aggressor state in a joint statement by the G7 – composed of the world’s seven most advanced economies – ahead of the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, according to the London-based Financial Times, citing five Western officials.

Washington’s shift in policy threatens to undermine the G7’s traditional display of unity, the report adds.

“The dispute over the planned G7 statement comes after Trump shocked Kyiv and its European allies by contacting Russian President Vladimir Putin and authorizing bilateral talks that are aimed at ending the war in Ukraine,” the dispatch said.

Furthermore, the U.S. is reportedly opposed to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remotely addressing the summit that is scheduled for Feb. 24, the day three years ago when Moscow launched its full-blown invasion.

The U.S. side apparently flipt the script to oppose the standard language in G7 statements regarding the war, including the phrase “Russian aggression.”

“We are adamant there must be a distinction made between Russia and Ukraine. They are not the same,” an official briefed on the matter told the Financial Times. “The Americans are blocking that language, but we are still working on it and hopeful of an agreement.”

On Feb. 19, U.S. President Donald Trump made unfounded criticisms of President Zelenskyy, calling him a “comedian” and a “dictator,” and accusing him of refusing to hold elections. 

Trump hasn’t also acknowledged that Ukraine is a victim of Russian war mongering and falsely claimed that Zelenskyy got involved in “a war that couldn’t be won, that never had to start,” as he falsely placed the war’s blame on Ukraine’s second war-time president.

The Ukrainian World Congress stands firmly with the people of Ukraine and expresses its unwavering support for Zelenskyy, who firmly secured his mandate with 73 percent of the popular vote in a 2019 election – more than any of his predecessors – that international election monitors deemed free and fair.