US opposes language on ‘Russian aggression’ in G7 statement on Ukraine

Good morning and happy Friday. In today’s newsletter:

The US is opposing calling Russia the aggressor in a G7 statement on the third anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, threatening to derail a traditional show of unity, according to five western officials familiar with the matter.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s participation at a virtual G7 summit on Monday had also not yet been agreed, officials said, while Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s office announced that she would not participate.

It comes after US President Donald Trump blamed Ukraine for the war, described Zelenskyy as a “dictator without elections”, and suggested that Russia should be invited back into the G7.

The US envoys have objected to the phrase “Russian aggression” and similar descriptions that have been used by G7 leaders since 2022 to describe the conflict, the western officials said.

“We are adamant that there must be a distinction made between Russia and Ukraine. They are not the same,” an official briefed on the matter told the FT. Read more about the dispute.

• US-Russia negotiations: Moscow used the first round of talks with the US over ending the war in Ukraine to demand the withdrawal of Nato forces from the alliance’s eastern flank.

• War in Ukraine: Kyiv’s defence intelligence unit rigged with explosives a batch of drone pilot goggles destined for use by Russians on battlefields in Ukraine, said officials with direct knowledge of the operation.

• FT Film: A Financial Times investigative documentary has found evidence that Russian executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war are not isolated incidents.

Here’s what else we’re keeping tabs on today and over the weekend:

• Economic data: Japan and Malaysia report January inflation figures.

• Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal: Hamas has pledged to release six Israeli hostages ahead of schedule on Saturday.

• Asian Development Bank: Masatsugu Asakawa on Sunday steps down as president of the ADB, to be succeeded by Masato Kanda.

How well did you keep up with the news this week? Take our quiz.

Five more top stories

1. Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba has said it will “aggressively” invest in artificial intelligence over the next three years. Chief executive Eddie Wu said yesterday that the company’s “primary objective” was “pursuing” artificial general intelligence, or AI that is capable of human-level critical thinking. Here’s how it plans to compete with DeepSeek and OpenAI.

2. Politico’s owner has praised the “inspiring message” of JD Vance’s speech at the Munich Security Conference and said many Europeans had “intentionally misunderstood” the address. The US vice-president stunned the audience last week by claiming restrictions on freedom of expression were a greater threat to Europe than Russia or China. Read the FT’s interview with Axel Springer chief Mathias Döpfner.

3. The Australian government has committed $1.5bn towards saving the South Australia steelworks seized from Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance this week, in one of the biggest bets of its plan to revive the country’s manufacturing base. Here’s more on the radical move.

4. European stocks have outpaced the US in the month since Donald Trump’s inauguration, as hopes rise that the region might escape a worst-case scenario trade war. The best-performing major index since the US president’s return has been Hong Kong, led by a rally in Chinese technology stocks listed in the territory following the DeepSeek shock.

5. Citigroup is scaling back its policies around diversity, the latest US company to retreat from targets to promote a more inclusive workforce. Trump’s return to the White House has intensified a backlash to diversity, equity and inclusion targets, leading companies to abandon goals they had put in place only a few years ago. 

News in-depth

For years, Hong Kong’s finances have been upheld by a government monopoly on land supply in one of the world’s most expensive real estate markets. The city’s government has relied on land sales for revenue while imposing low tax rates on income and corporate profits and no capital gains or sales taxes. But experts warn that Hong Kong’s long-running property market downturn has become a growing threat to its low-tax hub status.

We’re also reading . . . 

• Syria rebuilds: The destruction in the town of Saraqib underscores the Herculean task of rebuilding a bankrupt, hollowed-out state.

• Will the bond market rein in Trump?: Trade wars and plans for big tax cuts could rattle investors in US Treasuries, but it’s a resilient market with few alternatives.

• London’s ‘right-wing Davos’: The three-day Arc conference has attracted conservative politicians, theologians and business leaders from around the world with its blend of culture wars and religious urgency.

Chart of the day

Struggling Chinese developer Vanke has turned to a team of executives from state-run Shenzhen Metro to help it avoid becoming the latest casualty of the country’s long-running property crisis. The management overhaul appears to have helped allay concerns for now, as Vanke’s international bonds have recovered from distressed levels.

Take a break from the news . . . 

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