Washington, United States: The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has landed in Tokyo, Japan, to attend the G7 Meeting for Foreign Ministers. The meeting is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, November 7, 2023.
The reports have suggested that the major topic to be discussed during the meeting will be the ceasefire in the Gaza region, as the number of deaths has been increasing with every passing hour.
Blinken’s comment on reaching Tokyo
The State Secretary has made no public comment after reaching Japan following an official tour to the Middle East region amid increasing conflict in Gaza and nearby regions.
Israel-Gaza conflict update
Since the surprise attack by Hamas militants on Israel on October 7, the Defense Forces of Israel have been continuously and relentlessly bombarding Gaza, killing more than 10,000 civilians. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, out of the total, as many as 4,000 are children.
Reports have suggested that the United States, which is known to be an ally of Israel, has not asked Israel for a ceasefire, emphasizing that the nation has the right to fight back. The US is also providing assistance to Israel through financial and military aid.
Antony Blinken, during his visit to Turkey, outlined that the United States had been working relentlessly and very aggressively to provide assistance for the civilians who were trapped in the war-torn region of the Middle East. Although detailed information was not provided by Blinken, he stated, “I think we will see in the days ahead that the assistance can expand in significant ways.”
Joe Biden and PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s discussion about the ceasefire
On Monday, the leaders of the United States and Israel – President Joe Biden and PM Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the importance of “tactical pauses,” according to the details shared by the White House.
However, on Monday, the Israeli PM vowed that he would not let up in the war against Hamas.
G7 Summit 2023
It is to be noted that among the G7 members, only France voted in favor of the humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza during the recent UN General Assembly resolution.
However, the United States vetoed and the remaining Britain, Canada, Italy, Japan and Germany abstained.
The authorities of France, in a statement, stated that the Foreign Minister of France – Catherine Colonna, will be highlighting the importance of discussing the “need to respond to the needs of civilian populations in Gaza and to respect international humanitarian law.”
On the contrary, the Foreign Minister of German – Annalena Baerbock, stated that G7 will act as a platform to “discuss how we can achieve humanitarian pauses together to alleviate the suffering of the people in Gaza.”
Another important topic at G7 Summit
Ukraine war –
Various reports have suggested that the Ukraine war will be another topic during the event in Tokyo. Reportedly, the Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, will be addressing G7 Summit 2023 via a virtual conference.
Experts have outlined that there are signs that G7 will be sticking to firm language condemning Moscow for invading Ukraine in February 2022.
While having a conversation with the news agency AFP, Robert Ward from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) said, “The G7 has… been in the vanguard of the West’s economic statecraft with regard to Russia since its invasion of Ukraine. I would expect the ministers’ meeting to continue to voice support for this.”
China-United States relation –
The members of the G7 are expected to talk about the United States and China’s budding relationship and meeting of President Biden and President Xi Jinping during APEC 2023, ahead of COP28.
Central Asia –
It has been anticipated that the Summit will witness the discussion on the efforts to strengthen the ties with resource-rich and strategically located Central Asia. Reports by AFP outline that the foreign ministers from the region will be joining by video conference.