Russia accuses Zelensky of turning G7 summit into ‘propaganda show’

On Sunday, Russia said the presence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the G7 had turned the summit of the world’s seven most industrialized democracies into a “propaganda spectacle” carrying anti-Russian and anti-Chinese messages.

“The leaders of the G7 invited the leader of the Kyiv regime under their control to their meeting and turned the Hiroshima event into a propaganda spectacle,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“The main outcome of this summit was a series of hate-filled anti-Russian and anti-Chinese statements,” he added.

The G7, he stressed, has become “an incubator for the development, under the Anglo-Saxon leadership, of destructive initiatives that threaten global stability.”

Further, Russian diplomacy noted that the decline in Western influence “forces the members of the group to direct all their efforts to inciting anti-Russian and anti-Chinese hysteria.”

“We are confident that our assessment of the G7 and its destructive actions is shared by the majority of the international community,” he concluded.

The Ukrainian leader was an unexpected guest at the summit of the group of seven most developed democracies, which includes Germany, Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom, as well as the European Union (EU).

The G7 leaders called on China to put pressure on Russia to stop the war against Ukraine, while saying they want a “constructive and stable” relationship with Beijing.

Zelensky’s presence at the summit – with meetings on the sidelines with various officials – is “a way of building peace,” French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised the Ukrainian president on Saturday that India would do “everything possible” to resolve the conflict.

The G7 summit was held from Friday to Sunday in the Japanese city of Hiroshima.