Evian (France) (AFP) – G7 leaders on Wednesday hailed a newly-found unity on increasing pressure on Russia to end its war against Ukraine, sensing a shift by President Donald Trump to take a tougher line against Moscow. The three-day meeting of the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States has focused intensely on Trump’s deal to end the war with Iran and efforts to pressure Russia into brokering peace with Ukraine through ramped up sanctions.
In contrast to last year’s G7, when Trump walked out early, the leaders agreed on a final statement involving key geopolitical issues, including Ukraine and Russia. “It was tough work but worth it,” said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, describing the statement as a “success”. As well as increasing supplies of air defense equipment to Ukraine more than four years into the war launched by Russia, the leaders agreed to “increase the pressure on the Russian war economy” by strengthening sanctions, including on Moscow’s fossil fuel revenues, the statement said.
President Emmanuel Macron hailed a “very deep change in the US approach” towards Ukraine, saying Trump had understood that Russian President Vladimir Putin was not interested in peace. “President Trump, like all of us, simply acknowledged that there was no serious willingness on Russia’s part today to discuss peace.” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that on Ukraine, there was “a lot of convergence, which is not always obvious” and there was “no friction or divergence.” Throughout the summit, which was attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump took a harder line against Moscow, saying Russia had to seek a deal and showing impatience over the casualty toll on both sides.
G7 leaders also agreed to grant licenses for Ukraine-based companies to produce long-range missiles and air defense systems, a diplomatic source said. Trump, in his final news conference, meanwhile hailed his talks with Zelensky in Evian and a recent phone conversation with Putin. “They both want to do something, they just don’t know how to do it,” he commented.
At a lunch on Wednesday, the digital sphere took center stage, with some European G7 members pushing for more security to protect minors in a fast-changing world, moves that have irked the United States. Sam Altman, head of artificial intelligence giant OpenAI, Anthropic chief Dario Amodei, the founder of Google’s AI lab DeepMind Demis Hassabis, and Arthur Mensch of their European rival Mistral AI were all attending. G7 leaders called on tech firms “to develop and apply technology and systems that ensure safe, secure, and age-appropriate experiences,” according to a joint statement. Macron called for “better regulation” of artificial intelligence, warning of the risk of “non-cooperation between democracies”. Altman, meanwhile, warned the leaders “not to cede your responsibilities” over artificial intelligence to the companies building it.
Trump has been the center of attention throughout his stay at the summit in the lakeside resort of Evian. French officials were thrilled that the mercurial US president has stayed for the entire event and signed on to the G7 communique. In an unusual gesture, Macron invited Trump to dinner at the Palace of Versailles outside Paris after the summit winds down on Wednesday afternoon. Trump on Wednesday expressed excitement over the dinner, saying there is at the palace “a lot of gold, I want to check it out”. Macron, under pressure to show he is not fawning over Trump, has already said the evening at Versailles will not be a “gala” dinner. Yet it promises to be a relatively regal affair with dozens of guests set to attend the dinner inside the palace—preceded by a concert and followed by a fireworks display—before Trump flies back to the United States.
Trump emphasized that the Iran agreement was only a memorandum of understanding and said he was ready to resume military action if Tehran did not abide by its obligations. “If they don’t behave, we’ll go right back to dropping bombs right smack in the middle of their head,” he said. While Macron was formally chairing the summit, the US president made clear who he believed was in charge as he arrived for the third and final day. “I’m the boss,” Trump said before taking his seat.
© 2024 AFP
