G7 ends without joint statement on Ukraine, after Israel-Iran talks dominate agenda
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will leave the Group of Seven summit on Tuesday with new aid from host Canada for its war against Russia but without a joint statement of support from members or a chance to meet US President Donald Trump.
Mr Trump cut short his trip to the G7 in Alberta, Canada, with the White House saying he needed to return to Washington due to developments in the Iran-Israel conflict.
The G7 has historically shown a high level of support for Ukraine, although US support has waned under Mr Trump. This year, the leaders struggled to find unity over that conflict after Mr Trump expressed support for Russian President Vladimir Putin and left a day early.
Canada dropped plans for the G7 to issue a strong statement on the war in Ukraine after resistance from the US, a Canadian official told reporters. But Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who welcomed Mr Zelenskyy to the summit as a guest, said Ottawa would provide about $1.5 billion in new military assistance for Kyiv and impose new financial sanctions on Moscow.
The second day of the G7 summit came after a Russian attack on Kyiv left at least 18 people dead.
Mr Carney said that when G7 leaders met for dinner in the Rocky Mountain resort area of Kananaskis on Monday before Mr Trump left, they stressed the importance of using " maximum pressure against Russia" to force it to start serious peace talks.
Mr Zelenskyy, who has had a rocky relationship with Mr Trump, said he had told the G7 leaders that "diplomacy is now in a state of crisis" and that they need to continue calling on Mr Trump "to use his real influence" to force an end to the war.
"Even if the American President is not putting enough pressure on Russia right now, the truth is that America still has the broadest global interests and the largest number of allies. All of them will need strong protection," he said in a post on his Telegram account.
When the summit ends, Mr Carney plans to issue a chair statement calling for more pressure on Russia through sanctions and saying the G7 backs US-led peace efforts, G7 sources told Reuters. Canada holds the annual rotating presidency of the G7 and other leaders do not need to approve chair statements.
But it was the Israel-Iran war that dominated talks at the annual meeting. Before Mr Trump left, the leaders issued brief joint statement on the conflict called for a resolution to the crisis, with the leaders affirming Israel's 'right to defend itself' and blaming Iran for 'regional instability'.
Iran and the US have been involved in talks to develop a new deal that would put limits on Tehran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief, but talks have stalled amid the conflict. Mr Trump has repeatedly said that Iran should have accepted the proposals put forward by his administration, which would have saved it from "humiliation and death".
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