
G7 leaders to meet in Calgary, Canada to discuss pressing global issues
The heads of the world's largest economies, will meet at this year's G7 summit, which begins today in Canada. They are expected to discuss and overcome their differences, on a spread of pressing global issues. On the top of the agenda, is the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel, as well as the war in Ukraine, and Donald Trump's trade war. Nick Harper reports from Calgary.
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CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
Macron rejects Trump's idea for Putin to mediate Israel-Iran crisis
PARIS/COPENHAGEN: French President Emmanuel Macron, during a visit to Greenland to offer his support to the Arctic island, said on Sunday (Jun 15) that Russia lacked the credibility to mediate the crisis between Israel and Iran as US President Donald Trump has suggested. In an interview with ABC News on Sunday, Trump said he was open to Putin, whose forces invaded Ukraine and who has resisted Trump's attempts to broker a ceasefire with Kyiv, mediating between Israel and Iran. Macron said he rejected such an idea. "I do not believe that Russia, which is now engaged in a high-intensity conflict and has decided not to respect the UN Charter for several years now, can be a mediator," Macron said. He also said France did not take part in any of Israel's attacks against Iran. Macron was visiting Greenland, a self-governing part of Denmark with the right to declare independence that Trump has threatened to take over, ahead of a trip to Canada for the Group of Seven Leaders' summit. In a press conference alongside Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, Macron said the island was threatened by "predatory ambition," and that its situation was a wakeup call for all Europeans. "Greenland is not to be sold, not to be taken," he said, adding that he has spoken with Trump ahead of his trip, and would speak with him about Greenland at the G7. "I think there is a way forward in order to clearly build a better future in cooperation and not in provocation or confrontation." "I don't believe that in the end, the US, which is an ally and a friend, will ever do something aggressive against another ally," he said, adding he believed "the United States of America remains engaged in NATO and our key and historical alliances." Trump has said he wants the United States to take over the mineral-rich, strategically located Arctic island, and has not ruled out force. His vice president, JD Vance, visited a US military base there in March. Macron is the first foreign leader to visit Greenland since Trump's explicit threats to "get" the island. According to an IFOP poll for published on Saturday, 77 percent of French people and 56 percent of Americans disapprove of an annexation of Greenland by the US and 43 percent of the French would back using French military power to prevent a US invasion. Denmark's Frederiksen made several visits to Paris after Trump's threats to seek French and European backing, and has placed orders for French-made surface-to-air missiles, in a shift of focus for Copenhagen.


CNA
4 hours ago
- CNA
G7 leaders meet in Canada hoping to avoid Trump clash
BANFF, Alberta: Group of Seven leaders gather in the Canadian Rockies starting on Sunday (Jun 15) amid growing splits with the United States over foreign policy and trade, with host Canada striving to avoid clashes with President Donald Trump. While Prime Minister Mark Carney says his priorities are strengthening peace and security, building critical mineral supply chains and creating jobs, issues such as US tariffs and the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine are expected to feature heavily. Israel and Iran launched fresh attacks on each other overnight into Sunday, killing scores hours before the leaders of the world's industrialized democracies meet. "This issue will be very high on the agenda of the G7 summit," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said. He said his goals are for Iran to not develop or possess nuclear weapons, ensuring Israel's right to defend itself, avoiding escalation of conflict and creating room for diplomacy. The summit takes place in the mountain resort of Kananaskis, some 90 km west of Calgary. The last time Canada played host, in 2018, Trump left the summit before denouncing then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as "very dishonest and weak" and instructing the US delegation to withdraw its approval of the final communique. "This will be a successful meeting if Donald Trump doesn't have an eruption that disrupts the entire gathering. Anything above and beyond that is gravy," said University of Ottawa international affairs professor Roland Paris, who was foreign policy adviser to Trudeau. Trump has often mused about annexing Canada and arrives at a time when Carney is threatening reprisals if Washington does not lift tariffs on steel and aluminum. "The best-case scenario ... is that there's no real blow-ups coming out of the back end," said Josh Lipsky, the chair of international economics at the Atlantic Council think tank and a former White House and State Department official. Carney's office declined to comment on how the Israeli strikes would affect the summit. Diplomats said Canada has ditched the idea of a traditional comprehensive joint communique and would issue chair summaries instead, in hopes of containing a disaster and maintaining engagement with the US. A senior Canadian official told reporters Ottawa wanted to focus on actions the seven members, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, could take together. Canadian Senator Peter Boehm, a veteran former diplomat who acted as Trudeau's personal representative to the 2018 summit, said he had been told the summit would last longer than usual to give time for bilateral meetings with the US president. Expected guests for parts of the Sunday to Tuesday event include leaders from Ukraine, Mexico, India, Australia, South Africa, South Korea and Brazil, who all have reasons to want to talk to Trump. "Many will want to talk to President Trump about their own particular interests and concerns," Boehm said by phone. A senior US official said on Friday working discussions would cover trade and the global economy, critical minerals, migrant and drug smuggling, wildfires, international security, artificial intelligence and energy security. "The president is eager to pursue his goals in all of these areas including making America's trade relationships fair and reciprocal," the official said. The visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the Oval Office in February descended into acrimony and has served as a warning for other world leaders about the delicate dance they face in negotiating with Trump. But diplomats say the frustration of dealing with the Trump administration has made some keener to assert themselves. 'THE BIG TEST' Canada has long been one of Ukraine's most vocal supporters. Trump came to power promising to end the war with Russia within 24 hours but diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have stalled. One Ukrainian official involved in preparations for the summit said hope had faded for a strong statement in support of Ukraine. Instead, success for Kyiv would merely constitute an amicable meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy. A European official said the G7 summit and the NATO summit in The Hague later in June provided an opportunity to underscore to Trump the need to press ahead with a sanctions bill put together by US senators alongside a new European package to pressure Russia into a ceasefire and broader talks. Trump's first international summit will offer some early clues on whether Trump is interested in working with allies to solve common problems, said Max Bergmann, a director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Straits Times
5 hours ago
- Straits Times
Trump vetoed Israeli plan to kill Iran's supreme leader, US officials say
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he attends a military parade to commemorate the U.S. Army's 250th Birthday, on the day of his 79th birthday, in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 14, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei looks on, in a televised message following the Israeli strikes in Tehran, Iran, June 13, 2025. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump vetoed an Israeli plan in recent days to kill Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Sunday. "Have the Iranians killed an American yet? No. Until they do we're not even talking about going after the political leadership," said one of the sources, a senior U.S. administration official. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said top U.S. officials have been in constant communications with Israeli officials in the days since Israel launched a massive attack on Iran in a bid to halt its nuclear program. They said the Israelis reported that they had an opportunity to kill the top Iranian leader, but Trump waved them off of the plan. The officials would not say whether Trump himself delivered the message. But Trump has been in frequent communications with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. When asked about Reuters report, Netanyahu, in an interview on Sunday with Fox News Channel's "Special Report With Bret Baier," said: "There's so many false reports of conversations that never happened, and I'm not going to get into that." "But I can tell you, I think that we do what we need to do, we'll do what we need to do. And I think the United States knows what is good for the United States," Netanyahu said. Trump has been holding out hope for a resumption of U.S.-Iranian negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program. Talks that had been scheduled for Sunday in Oman were canceled as a result of the strikes. Trump told Reuters on Friday that "we knew everything" about the Israeli strikes. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.