First comes Ukraine. As the special place reserved for President Zelensky within this G7, the bilateral agreement between him and Joe Biden and the focus of the summit on Russian aggression had already demonstrated, Kiev is at the first point of the final declaration of the seven leaders. “We reaffirm our unwavering support for Ukraine for however long it takes.” On the other hand, Ukraine is the only point of the frontal document on which the seven, and above all the guest Giorgia Meloni, have concrete results to show to the world: the 50 billion loan covered by interest on Russian sovereign funds frozen – nicknamed Era: Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration Loans for Ukraine – and the ten-year bilateral agreement with the United States. Parallel and complementary is the condemnation of Russia’s “brutal and unjustifiable war of aggression” and its “irresponsible” appeal to nuclear rhetoric.
WHILE THE SITUATION on the ground in Ukraine is increasingly dramatic, the document of the seven accepts the slogans that we have often found in their speeches in recent days – which betray rather than dispel a serious underlying concern for the progress of the conflict: it is not It is true that time is in Moscow’s favor, we read, “that destroying lives and infrastructure has no consequences”, or that “Russia can prevail, leading Ukraine to economic default”.
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The not too veiled threats to China, which supplies technologies to Moscow used to build weapons, accompany not only the long chapter on Kiev, but also the entire chapter on the Indo Pacific, where in the diplomatic language of these occasions Beijing is framed as the source of instability across the region, from Taiwan to the Philippines and North Korea – with the exception of Myanmar’s military junta which earns blame all its own. The persecution of Muslims by the newly re-elected Indian government, led by Narendra Modi, certainly could not have been in the document on the day in which the Indian Prime Minister reached Borgo Egnazia (and held a bilateral meeting with Meloni in the evening) together with the other leaders of the so-called outreach – trumpeted for days as proof that the G7 is not a private club intended only for the rich and predominantly white – including the Turkish Erdogan, the Argentine Javier Milei, the Brazilian Lula.
ON THE PODIUM of the press release, in second place, Gaza. But after the dutiful condemnation of the Hamas massacre, the words used in defense of the civilians of the Strip, as well as of the occupied territories, are even milder than those uttered on several occasions by the president of the United States to try to stem the murderous and scruples of Benyamin Netanyahu within a Gaza of which almost nothing remains. «We support and support the agreement detailed by President Biden – we read – which would lead to an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages, a significant and continuous increase in the entire Strip’s access to humanitarian aid, a lasting end to the crisis, which ensures the security of Israel and that of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.”
The panacea for all ills. «We are deeply concerned – the seven mourn while the offensive has already begun weeks ago – of the consequences for the civilian population of the ground operations in Rafah, and of the possibility that a large-scale military offensive will have further serious consequences for civilians ». Note of demerit also for the settlers’ violence, and ritual appeal to the two-state solution. In addition to a few notes on the fear of the expansion of the conflict, from the Gulf of Aden patrolled by the Houthis to Lebanon and Iran: Tehran “must cease its destabilizing actions”.
In third place Meloni manages to place his creation, the Mattei plan for Africa, under the heading «Promotion of partnerships with African countries»: «We will strengthen mutually beneficial collaborations and equal cooperation with African countries and regional organizations» . From this perspective, «we welcome the Mattei plan for Africa launched by Italy». The counterpart, and counterpoint, is found several pages later, under the heading “Migration”.
The G7 LEADERS they propose the usual three-point recipe: solving none other than the causes of migration, strengthening the “management” of borders, “safe and regular routes for migration”. Where the pillar of the policy is clear from the statement that «we will intensify efforts to prevent and address irregular immigration, counter the illegal activities that facilitate it, and address the challenges they pose to individuals and societies. We affirm the sovereign right of states – another achievement of Meloni, while Biden is a veteran of the shame of the executive order that seals the southern border of the United States, throwing away rivers of promises – to control their borders, as well as their prerogative of govern migration within its jurisdiction.” The Italian president won on all fronts.
