The Group of Seven (G7) leaders met for the first day of the two-day summit in Kananaskis in the province of Alberta, Canada, on Monday with emerging disagreements.
According to CNN, US President Donald Trump does not intend to sign a joint statement calling for de-escalation between Israel and Iran.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa held a press conference Sunday night saying that Israel has a right to defend itself and that Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon.
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer were also hoping to finalize a consensus among the leaders about the Middle East situation.
Trump’s decision not to sign on to the statement set up an immediate divide with his counterparts, said the report, although a senior Canadian official said that European leaders are still engaged in the hopes of reaching a consensus.
In the meantime, trade issues are to dominate discussions with Trump, and observers are watching to see whether he will soften his position.
After meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Trump was asked what is holding up a trade-security deal with Canada, and he replied that it’s not a matter of it being held up, but rather “different concepts.”
“I have a tariff concept and Mark has a different concept,” Trump said. “We will see if we can get to the bottom of it today.”
“I think Mark has a more complex idea, but also very good. We are going to look at both and we’ll see what we will come out with,” said Trump.
Trump also said it was a mistake to boot Russia from the G8 table, making it the current G7 and that there wouldn’t be war in Ukraine if Russia hadn’t been ejected.
Trump to leave early
Trump is leaving the G7 summit a day early due to the situation in the Middle East, the White House said on Monday.
Trump had earlier urged everyone to immediately evacuate Teheran, and reiterated that Iran should have signed a nuclear deal with the United States.
The G7 summit unveiled its slimmed-down agenda on Sunday, prioritizing discussions on the global economy and energy security.
Originally scheduled to begin over the weekend, the summit has been shortened to two days and officially started on Monday.
The G7 is an informal bloc comprising seven of the world’s advanced economies — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain, and the United States — along with the European Union.
– By Xinhua, with Reuters inputs
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