Trump leaves G7 summit early citing Middle East tensions
US President Donald Trump is leaving the Group of Seven summit in Canada a day early due to the situation in the Middle East, the White House said on Monday.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump had made an offer for a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.
Trump had earlier urged everyone to immediately evacuate Tehran, and reiterated that Iran should have signed a nuclear deal with the United States.
"Much was accomplished, but because of what's going on in the Middle East, President Trump will be leaving tonight after dinner with Heads of State," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on X.
The G7 has struggled to find unity over conflicts in Ukraine and between Israel and Iran as Trump overtly expressed support for Russian President Vladimir Putin and has imposed tariffs on many of the allies present.
A US official said Trump would not sign a draft statement calling for de-escalation of the Israel-Iran conflict.
Still, Macron said Trump's departure was positive, given the objective to get a ceasefire.
"There is indeed an offer to meet and exchange. An offer was made especially to get a ceasefire and to then kick-start broader discussions," Macron told reporters.
"We have to see now whether the sides will follow."
G7 leaders from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the US, along with the European Union, had convened in the resort area of Kananaskis in the Canadian Rockies until Tuesday.
Speaking alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney earlier, Trump said the former Group of Eight had been wrong to kick out Russia in 2014 after it annexed Crimea.
"This was a big mistake," Trump said, adding he believed Russia would not have invaded Ukraine in 2022 had Putin not been ejected.
"Putin speaks to me. He doesn't speak to anybody else ... he's not a happy person about it. I can tell you that he basically doesn't even speak to the people that threw him out, and I agree with him," Trump said.
Though Trump stopped short of saying Russia should be reinstated in the group, his comments had raised doubts about how much Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky can achieve when he is scheduled to meet the leaders on Tuesday.
"It was a rough start," said Josh Lipsky, a former senior IMF official who now chairs the international economics department at the Atlantic Council.
European nations had wanted to persuade Trump to back tougher sanctions on Moscow.
A spokesperson for the Ukraine embassy in Canada said Zelensky was still planning to come to Canada.
Canada has abandoned any effort to adopt a comprehensive communique to avert a repeat of the 2018 summit in Quebec, when Trump instructed the US delegation to withdraw its approval of the final communique after leaving.
Leaders have prepared several draft documents seen by Reuters, including on migration, artificial intelligence, and critical minerals. None of them have been approved by the United States, however, according to sources briefed on the documents.
Without Trump, it is unclear if there will be any declarations, a European diplomat said.
Carney invited non-G7 members Mexico, India, Australia, South Africa, South Korea and Brazil, as well as Ukraine.
Tariffs
Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday they had finalised a trade deal reached between the two allies last month, making Britain the first country to agree to a deal for lower US tariffs.
Carney said in a statement he had agreed with Trump that their two nations should try to wrap up a new economic and security deal within 30 days.
Trump said a new economic deal with host Canada was possible but stressed tariffs had to play a role, a position the Canadian government strongly opposes.
"Our position is that we should have no tariffs on Canadian exports to the United States," said Kirsten Hillman, Canada's ambassador to Washington.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
an hour ago
- Euronews
Iran launches new attack on Israel as conflict enters fifth day
US President Donald Trump has called for the immediate evacuation of all of Tehran, issuing the warning shortly after Israeli forces told residents in parts of north-eastern Tehran to leave ahead of planned strikes on what they described as 'military infrastructure.' The announcements came on the fifth day of hostilities between Iran and Israel, as both sides continue trading strikes in a conflict that shows no sign of slowing. Overnight, explosions and heavy air defence fire were reported in Tehran, as Iranian state media confirmed Israeli airstrikes hit the capital, including a direct hit on the country's state-run television station during a live broadcast. On Monday, Iran launched a pre-dawn wave of missiles at Israel, killing at least eight people, prompting further Israeli retaliation throughout the day. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Monday that the strikes have set Iran's nuclear program back 'years' and said he is in touch daily with Trump, who left the G7 summit in Canada early amidst reports he was heading to Washington to work on a ceasefire deal. Stay with us for live updates as Euronews reporters from the region and around the world brought updates and reactions from the dramatic events in the Middle East.
Euronews
an hour ago
- Euronews
Coal-hooked Poland constructs first ever offshore wind farm
Once reliant on coal for the majority of its electricity, the country of 36 million that currently holds the EU rotating presidency is trying to reduce its dependence on the fossil fuel. With many mines becoming unprofitable and old infrastructure in decline, the Polish government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk has planned a gradual closure of coal facilities in the south of the country. As the coal regions of the country come to terms with this shift, northern Poland adjacent to the Baltic Sea is booming. Ignacy Niemczycki, the deputy minister in the Chancellery, briefed a handful of Brussels-based journalists on board the Jantar passenger ship, telling Euronews that the wind farm should have a lifecycle of up to 30 years and be a major part of the energy transition. 'It's in the interest of the Polish economy to invest in renewables, nuclear, and gas to stabilise the grid,' the minister told Euronews. Situated 23 kilometres off the northern coast near Choczewo and Łeba, the wind farm is among the most advanced renewable energy projects in the Polish Economic Zone. The final installed capacity of the project is expected to reach 1140 MW, enough to supply electricity to approximately 1.5 million Polish households. Renewables will only be one part of the Polish energy mix. Plans for the first ever nuclear plant, which will also be located on Poland's northern Baltic Sea coast, were put in place under the former Law and Justice (PiS) government and have been continued by Prime Minister Donald Tusk's current ruling coalition. Niemczycki told Euronews that a second nuclear project is being considered and Poland is keeping a close eye on Canada as it experiments with the first ever mini nuclear plant, known as a Small Modular Reactor (SMR). SMRs could can potentially power up to 300 MW(e) per unit. 'We will see a major change in Poland's energy mix over the next 15 years,' said Niemczycki. 'Nuclear will become the new baseline, with renewables and gas providing flexibility and stability.' A Russian missile and drone attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv overnight on Tuesday killed at least 14 people and wounded more than three dozen others, according to Ukrainian officials. The attack is the latest in a series of mass drone and missile attacks on Kyiv. It came at a time when world leaders convened at the Group of Seven – or G7 – meeting in Canada, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to attend. Ukraine's Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko told reporters at the scene that a US citizen was among those killed in the attacks after suffering shrapnel wounds from the blast. Explosions could be heard for hours throughout the night in the early hours of Tuesday. Thirty apartments were destroyed in a single residential block, according to Klymenko. He noted the death toll is likely to rise as emergency workers descended to the scene of a collapsed apartment building to search for bodies buried under the rubble. People were wounded in the city's Sviatoshynskyi and Solomianskyi districts. Kyiv's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said fires broke out in two other Kyiv districts as a result of falling debris from drones shot down by Ukrainian air defences. Canada, which assumed the presidency of the G7 this year, invited Zelenskyy to the summit, where he is expected to hold one-on-one meetings with world leaders on Tuesday. Zelenskyy was set to meet with US President Donald Trump in Canada on Tuesday, though the White House announced that Trump would be returning unexpectedly to Washington on Monday night instead of Tuesday due to rising tensions in the Middle East. Russia has launched a record number of drones and missiles in recent weeks. Moscow escalated attacks after Ukraine's Security Service agency executed an operation targeting war planes in air bases deep inside Russian territory. The Ukrainian leader says little progress has emerged from direct peace talks held in Istanbul, with the exception of prisoner exchanges, expected to conclude next week.
Euronews
2 hours ago
- Euronews
At least 14 people killed in Russian overnight attack on Kyiv
A Russian missile and drone attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv overnight on Tuesday killed at least 14 people and wounded more than three dozen others, according to Ukrainian officials. The attack is the latest in a series of mass drone and missile attacks on Kyiv. It came at a time when world leaders convened at the Group of Seven – or G7 – meeting in Canada, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to attend. Ukraine's Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko told reporters at the scene that a US citizen was among those killed in the attacks after suffering shrapnel wounds from the blast. Explosions could be heard for hours throughout the night in the early hours of Tuesday. Thirty apartments were destroyed in a single residential block, according to Klymenko. He noted the death toll is likely to rise as emergency workers descended to the scene of a collapsed apartment building to search for bodies buried under the rubble. People were wounded in the city's Sviatoshynskyi and Solomianskyi districts. Kyiv's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said fires broke out in two other Kyiv districts as a result of falling debris from drones shot down by Ukrainian air defences. Canada, which assumed the presidency of the G7 this year, invited Zelenskyy to the summit, where he is expected to hold one-on-one meetings with world leaders on Tuesday. Zelenskyy was set to meet with US President Donald Trump in Canada on Tuesday, though the White House announced that Trump would be returning unexpectedly to Washington on Monday night instead of Tuesday due to rising tensions in the Middle East. Russia has launched a record number of drones and missiles in recent weeks. Moscow escalated attacks after Ukraine's Security Service agency executed an operation targeting war planes in air bases deep inside Russian territory. The Ukrainian leader says little progress has emerged from direct peace talks held in Istanbul, with the exception of prisoner exchanges, expected to conclude next week. At this year's Paris Air Show, fighter jets are taking a backseat. Unmanned and autonomous technologies are driving the future of defence and dominating the conversation at Le Bourget airport in northern Paris. With 2,400 exhibitors from 48 countries and 300,000 visitors expected, the world's biggest aerospace event opened against an intense backdrop of global tensions. As Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine enters its fourth year and tensions are soaring between Israel and Iran, it has become urgent for Europe to modernise its defence capabilities. On Monday, Italian giant Leonardo and Turkey's Baykar Technologies announced a joint venture to co-develop a new generation of unmanned systems, with the first drones expected to be delivered in 2026. 'When it comes to unmanned systems, Europe is quite behind,' said Leonardo CEO Roberto Cingolani. 'First of all, I think the target is to fill the gap… We need to develop different platforms with different payloads... and offer them to different countries. That will already be a very important target in the short to mid-term," explained Cingolani to a group of reporters. Cingolani stressed that Europe will soon need not just drones, but also land and sea-based systems. 'The Ukrainian war has completely changed the landscape,' he said. 'We know that we have to be ready.' For defence consultant Xavier Tytelman, the turning point for this edition of the fair is the industrialisation of high-intensity warfare. "In the past, we said 'We are going to make drones'. Now, we are actually offering drones with well-defined prices, which shows a very strong trend of military industrialisation," he told Euronews. Europe's previous lag on large drone platforms may no longer matter. Smaller, more agile systems that are cheaper to produce and easier to deploy are now proving decisive on the battlefield. Beyond strategy and scale, sovereignty has become a defining theme aduringt this year's edition. The push to develop 'ITAR-free' (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) equipment -free from U.S. export restrictions - is visible across the exhibition area. 'There's one fundamental element here, and that's the return of sovereignty. You see it everywhere with many booths labelled 'ITAR Free.' That means there are no American components, so the U.S. can't prevent them from using their own equipment, like they did in Ukraine, where we supplied missiles that couldn't be used because they contained U.S. parts," explained Tytelman. "Now, all around us, Europeans are organising themselves to be more sovereign, independent, to work together, to complement each other's technological capabilities, and to achieve 100% European industrialisation. That's another major deep, structural trend.'
