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G7 NATIONS ARE to meet in Canada as Russia considers a proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Peace in Ukraine is likely to top the agenda for today’s meeting in Charlevoix, Quebec, with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy stressing the need to ensure Kyiv is “in the strongest possible position”.
“If we do not achieve lasting peace in Ukraine, the instability and insecurity that has hit the living standards of working people in Britain will only get worse and Putin’s appetite for conflict and chaos will only grow,” Lammy said.
The G7, or Group of Seven, consists of the US, France, the UK, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan.
The meeting, which will also be attended by US secretary of state Marco Rubio, comes as the Kremlin considers a proposal for a 30-day ceasefire put forward after talks between the US and Ukraine.
American officials were expected to put the proposals directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin overnight yesterday, with Rubio saying “the ball is truly in their court”.
Yesterday evening, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was still awaiting “detailed information” on the proposal.
The G7 meeting is the latest in a round of diplomacy as the world scrambles to respond to Donald Trump’s push for an end to the war in Ukraine.
Yesterday saw military powers from Europe meet in Paris to discuss plans for a peacekeeping force that could be deployed to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire.
UK defence secretary John Healey said this work was “accelerating” after a meeting with his counterparts from France, Germany, Italy and Poland on Wednesday, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to host a summit of the “coalition of the willing” on Saturday.
But while the likes of the UK are set to push for continued support for Ukraine when he meets the G7 foreign ministers on Thursday, the meeting could also see tensions as the US seeks to avoid criticism of Moscow.
The Trump administration has already opposed UN resolutions condemning Russian aggression in Ukraine, and earlier in the week Rubio said the US would not “sign on to any communique that’s not consistent with our position to bring both sides to the table”.
Trump’s repeated claims that the US should absorb Canada as its 51st state could also prove to be a sticking point, although Rubio told reporters yesterday during a stopover in Shannon Airport it was “not what we’re going to discuss at the G7”.
Following yesterday’s Paris meeting of key European defence ministers, France said a “very broad consensus” is emerging among European nations on boosting Ukraine’s long-term security through the Ukrainian armed forces.
The European nations at the meeting also included Britain, Germany, Italy and Poland.
French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu told reporters that the consensus was that “the first of the security guarantees for Ukraine is obviously the Ukrainian army itself”, further ruling out any postwar “demilitarisation” of Ukraine, as sought by Russia.
“On the contrary, the real guarantee of long-term security will be the capabilities that we will be able to give to the Ukrainian army,” Lecornu, a top ally of President Emmanuel Macron, added.
The defence ministers acknowledged the challenges posed by the new administration of Donald Trump in the US — which is seeking direct talks with Russia to end the war sparked by the Russian 2022 invasion of Ukraine — while insisting Europe was ready to stand on its own feet.
Lecornu said that “at this stage, about fifteen countries have shown an interest in continuing this process,” referring to proposed options for a “security architecture” with a view to a lasting ceasefire in Ukraine.
He warned against seeing Ukraine’s post-war security solely in terms of European troops who could be deployed there, repeatedly insisting that this was not an issue to be decided on now.
Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz also welcomed a “real unity of the continent”, referring to the threat from Russia.
In his view, it was a matter of “keeping Russia at a distance from all our states as much as possible, and to do that, we must help Ukraine”.
With reporting by Eoghan Dalton and AFP
Want to know more about what’s happening in Ukraine and why? Check out our FactCheck Knowledge Bank for essential reads and guides to finding good information online.
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Good captions Michelle!
Thanks! Glad you liked them.
Captions are hilarious Michelle, all we’re missing is a ‘Careful Now’=)
Great captions…..but i thought #12 could be “ah feck….I forgot to get him to sign my iPad”
To the nearest second, i wonder how long it took Bill to realise he was surrounded by clowns.
I’m sure he was pre-warned
Enda “so bill im organising a whip round for this imf bailout thibg, any chance of a few quid”
Enda resorting to begging from the Gates foundation charity??
I wonder did we ask?
I’m sure they had a great chat about cloud computing :)
Pic 9 – hey Bill come back, there was a little favour I wanted to ask, ( Enda ‘embarrassment to Ireland’ Kenny)
Don’t call me Enda I’ll call you!
Last pic has him looking like a wooden toy solider…
Nice suit Enda how much did that cost me?
a great chat about blitzing schools with vaccines
Best thing you could do for children!
Yes indeed, Bill is working hard to get world population under control whether we like it or not. One world government too. Sterilisation not a problem. Nice fella is Bill.
At least the door porter gave him a nice wave off.
Captions for the last few
7. Enda: So still good for the loan Bill?
Bill: No
8. Enda: So it’ll be in the post then?
9. Enda: Bill?
10. I’ll call you…….!?
11. Maybe I should have high 5′d him instead!
12. Sh!te.
That is the most ill fitting jacket I’ve seen on a man ever. Who dresses Bill Gates? They need sacking!
He’s here to help … ?
http://archive.org/details/WipeOutHumans-BillGates-VaccinesArebestWayToDepopulatePlanet
Bill Gates clearly admitted this agenda at this TED speech
Nice series of pics. It’s good for Ireland PR to see Gates visiting.
Bill Gates is in the opinion of many a dangerous man – aslo he is afgainst Trade Uions . I know some trade unionist have come in for what appears to be well founded criticism . That does not mean Trade Unions are not very necessary .
Bill gates is closly associated with Monsanto – and anyone who thinks Monsanto have the people of any country interests at heart needs to re-examine things .
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/03/05/wikileaks-exposes-unholy-alliance-of-us-government-bill-gates-and-monsanto.aspx
the effect of monsanto in India has been bad – very bad .
http://www.naturalnews.com/037649_India_Monsanto_GM_foods.html
Bill Gates is a interesting business man…
“At this present historical juncture, neoclassical free-market economic doctrines are the favored means of promoting capitalism by business and political elites. In many respects, this neoliberal dogma has been adopted by a sizable proportion of the citizenry of the world’s most powerful countries, arguably against the citizenry’s own best interests. This widespread internalisation, but not necessarily acceptance, by the broader populous of the economic theories that consolidate capitalist hegemony over the global market did not happen naturally, but actually required a massive ongoing propaganda campaign to embed itself in the minds of the masses. The contours of this propaganda offensive have been well described by Alex Carey who fittingly observed that: “The twentieth century has been characterised by three developments of great political importance: the growth of democracy, the growth of corporate power, and the growth of corporate propaganda as a means of protecting corporate power against democracy.” [2]
There are many reasons why corporate giants engage in liberal philanthropic endeavors: one is to have a direct influence on political decisions through what has been termed political philanthropy [3], but another important reason is that such charitable efforts help cultivate a positive image in the public’s mind that serves to deflect criticism while also helping expand their market share. However, although liberal foundations like the Gates Foundation may engage in ostensibly ‘progressive’ activities, this does not mean that the capitalist enterprises from which their endowments arise (e.g. Microsoft) refrain from engaging in common antidemocratic business practices. So while the Gates Foundation directs some of its resources to progressive grassroots initiatives, its corporate benefactor actually works to create fake grassroots organisations (otherwise known as astroturf groups) to actively lobby through covert means to protect corporate power.”
http://wrongkindofgreen.org/2013/01/09/flashback-the-green-revolution-bill-gates-philanthropy-and-social-engineering/
pic 10 …. ‘Only 5 billion Bill, thats all we need for now, honest’
Haha, those captions made my day.
Billy & the me feinners
Pic 11 is father Ted waving off Bishop Brennan
The photos if kenny standing like a loner waving goodbye to Bill are hilarious…kenny the mouse.
id say enda has some fat autograph book
Jees he does the same waving people off as he does shaking their hand,looong and painful,I doubt billy would give anyone in Dáil Éireann a job,he’s no fool!
Pic 8 – is that Bertie!
have your say