The G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan; Russia's withdrawal from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE); Moscow's extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative; and Asia facing record heatwaves were among the international events that stood out this past week.
G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan
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| The G7 summit was held in the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Photo: AFP-TTXVN |
From May 19 to 21, the 49th G7 Summit took place in Hiroshima, Japan.
This year's 49th G7 Summit takes place in the context of the world's political , economic and security situation continuing to fluctuate in a complex and unpredictable manner, affecting many aspects of the common security and development environment.
On the opening day of the conference on May 19, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated that the world is witnessing major crises that are shaking the foundation of the international order. Therefore, the goal of this conference is to strengthen the international order based on the rule of law, demonstrating the G7's strong determination to protect this order, while opposing the use of nuclear weapons and the use of force to change the status quo.
The summit issued a joint statement on Ukraine. Accordingly, the G7 leaders said they would continue to implement their commitment to provide financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic assistance at Ukraine's request for as long as necessary, while imposing additional sanctions on Russia. The statement also called on Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine.
At the second meeting, the G7 leaders issued a statement affirming that they will increase energy and development support for emerging and developing countries, which face many difficulties in investment capital and foreign debt.
The G7 stressed the urgency of strengthening supply chains for industrial materials - such as semiconductors - and taking necessary measures to counter unilateral trade restrictions. The G7 called on all countries to adhere to the principles of “transparency, diversification, security, sustainability, reliability and trust” in building supply chain networks.
G7 leaders also agreed to take measures to ensure food security amid limited supplies, partly affected by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Notably, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to Hiroshima to attend two meetings of the summit on May 20. Posting on Twitter, the Ukrainian President commented that the G7 summit brings peace closer when he traveled to Japan to attend the event.
Japanese authorities said President Zelensky's decision to travel to Hiroshima stemmed from his "strong desire" to participate in discussions that have a major impact on Ukraine.
This is Mr Zelensky's first trip to Asia since the conflict broke out, and will allow him to meet with key allies such as US President Joe Biden and leaders of influential non-aligned countries such as Brazil and India.
Russia withdraws from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE)
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| Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. Photo: AFP-TTXVN |
On May 15, Russia officially announced its withdrawal from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE).
According to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, the CFE Treaty is contrary to Russia's security interests in the current world situation. The CFE Treaty has been in trouble for many years, so Russia's withdrawal from the treaty cannot make the situation worse. Mr. Ryabkov added that the current situation is also not favorable for coming up with new ideas for an alternative to the CFE Treaty. He said that the world in the future will be completely different from the world in 1990 or 1999, and this requires new approaches, including to arms control.
The CFE Treaty was signed by 16 members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and six members of the Warsaw Pact in Paris in 1990 to reduce tensions between the two blocs. The CFE sets limits on the deployment of conventional armed forces on the European continent and establishes mechanisms for verification.
Russia has long argued that NATO’s expansion (including former Warsaw Pact members) is undermining the CFE. In 2007, Russia announced a partial suspension of the CFE, saying that new NATO members were not abiding by the treaty’s limits but were still participating in the joint advisory group meetings. In 2015, Moscow withdrew from the CFE mechanisms altogether, saying it “has no need to continue participating” and has only participated in a tokenistic sense to date.
After withdrawing from the CFE, Russia will not be bound by any restrictions on conventional weapons, allowing it to increase its military power on its borders. However, Russia has stated that although it is abandoning the CFE Treaty, it will not remove the issue of arms control from the agenda.
Experts say that in the future, there may be other arms control treaties in Europe, but this can only happen after the current political and military crisis between Russia and the West ends.
Russia continues to extend the Black Sea Grain Initiative
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| A Ukrainian grain ship moves through the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul, Türkiye to the Marmara Sea, November 2, 2022. Photo: AFP-TTXVN |
On May 17, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed that the Black Sea Grain Initiative was extended for two more months to support countries in difficulty.
“This is an opportunity to help ensure global food security not only with words but with actions, first of all by helping the countries that need it most,” Zakharova said, but affirmed that Russia's general assessment of the situation related to the agreement remains unchanged.
Russia and Ukraine are the world’s top grain suppliers. The conflict in Ukraine and Western sanctions against Russia are disrupting grain supplies, causing global food prices to soar and threatening to leave millions of people in the world’s poorest countries without food.
Russia and Ukraine signed a separate Black Sea Grain Initiative in July 2022, brokered by the United Nations and Türkiye. Under it, representatives of Russia and the United Nations signed a memorandum of understanding on facilitating the supply of agricultural products and fertilizers to world markets, while the Ukrainian delegation signed an agreement with Türkiye and the United Nations on grain exports.
The initiative was first extended for 120 days in November 2022 and then for 60-day increments, until May 18, 2023. The agreement must be renewed beyond May 18, 2023.
Russia's latest move was welcomed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, but he also noted that there were still outstanding issues that Russia, Ukraine, Türkiye and the UN would need to continue to discuss.
Asia faces record heat
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| People use umbrellas to shade themselves from the sun in Beijing, China. Photo: AFP-TTXVN |
Over the past week, heat waves have covered many countries in Asia.
Since May 15, severe heat has engulfed many cities in China, including Beijing. This is the first heat wave this year and in some places, regional authorities have issued orange heat alerts.
Heat waves are also continuing in countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Meanwhile, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on May 17 released a report warning that the natural phenomenon El Nino and greenhouse gas emissions could cause temperatures to rise to record levels in the period 2023 - 2027. According to WMO analysis, the average annual global near-surface temperature in the period 2023 - 2027 is predicted to be 1.1 degrees Celsius to 1.8 degrees Celsius higher than the average of the period 1850-1900.
In fact, the global average temperature in 2022 was 1.15 degrees Celsius above the 1850-1900 average. Meanwhile, the eight hottest years on record were between 2015 and 2022, with 2016 being the hottest (when global temperatures rose by 1.3 degrees Celsius).
In that context, the Paris Agreement on climate change sets long-term targets to guide all countries to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions to limit the global temperature increase this century to well below 2 degrees Celsius, while pursuing efforts to limit the increase to more than 1.5 degrees Celsius, to avoid or reduce adverse impacts on human life.
According to Tin Tuc Newspaper (Summary)
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