G7 countries are trying to avoid conflict with Trump by canceling the joint communique - Bloomberg
Kyiv • UNN
G7 countries may abandon the joint communique at the summit in Canada due to large differences between the US and other members on issues of Ukraine and climate change. Instead, leaders may issue separate statements.
The countries of the "Group of Seven" (G7) will not try to reach a consensus on a joint communique at the summit of leaders in Canada. Bloomberg reports with reference to sources and notes that this is an acknowledgment of the large gap that separates the US and other members on issues of Ukraine, climate change, reports UNN.
Details
Instead of a single document, the G7 leaders are likely to publish separate joint statements of the leaders on various topics
According to them, this approach is better for Canadian hosts. Prime Minister Mark Carney seeks to ease tensions with the US president and promote trade and security talks.
As Bloomberg writes, agreeing on a final communique is usually a ritual for leaders gathering at meetings such as the G7 summit. Although the document is not legally binding, it is a statement of principles and is intended to demonstrate the unity of the participants on issues of global importance.
For example, last year's summit communique was 36 pages long and contained commitments to support Ukraine in the conflict with Russia, combat climate change and promote gender equality.
But Trump has turned US policy upside down on all of these and many other issues, refusing to express support for Ukraine in favor of Russia, canceling climate change initiatives, and rejecting gender initiatives.
It is reported that Carney wants to avoid a repeat of 2018, when Canada last hosted G7 leaders, and Trump withdrew from the joint communique a few hours after signing it, because he was irritated by comments made to journalists by then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Bloomberg notes that in addition to trade, G7 leaders - the US, Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Japan and Canada - plan to discuss artificial intelligence, energy security, forest fires and global conflicts, including in Ukraine and the Middle East. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will join the summit together with the leaders of India, Brazil, Mexico and other countries.
After the 2018 meeting, the final documents, as a rule, were shorter, so that there was less time to discuss them, but they also contained less text that the participants could disagree with, said Caitlin Welsh, who worked in the first Trump administration.
Regarding this year's G7 summit, today the Trump administration almost certainly believes that no deal is better than a bad deal, and it continues to favor a "back to basics" approach at the G7
According to her, last time the Trump administration believed that the G7 had deviated from its original goal, which was to promote global economic stability and growth.
Welsh added that Carney's agenda "given everything, adheres to traditional G7 principles".
Addition
The White House reported that they are working on organizing bilateral meetings between US President Donald Trump and foreign leaders on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada, where the presence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney reported that among the priorities at the summit of leaders of the "Group of Seven" (G7) countries, which will be held from June 15 to 17 in the Canadian city of Kananaskis, will be a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and other conflict zones around the world.