SUMMARY
The G7 Support Group remains a unique and sometimes decisive actor in the process of reforms in Ukraine. The transition of the Group toward silent diplomacy with a focus on more closed meetings with the key stakeholders of reforms is generally justified.
There should be less public statements, and the reasons should be exceptional. Such statements must be seen as the last warning of the collective West, and not a way to remind about the existence of the Group. It is also important to strengthen the interaction and coordination between the Support Group and the global G7 in order to avoid manipulations of the parallel agendae for Ukraine from the Western embassies in Ukraine and the Western capitals.
It is important for the Government of Ukraine to have realistic expectations about the Canadian chairmanship and focus on the invitation of Pavlo Klimkin to the ministerial summit in April. It is also important to remember that criticism is also an element of support. And the main point is that the situation when the Western partners ignore Ukraine is worse than the situation when they criticize.
