G7 leaders aim to contain Israel-Iran conflict, ease trade tensions
The Group of Seven summit opened in Canada on June 16, with world leaders urgently addressing the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program. U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his call for both nations to begin negotiations.
“They should talk, and they should talk immediately,” he told reporters, News.Az reports citing foregin media.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said all G7 leaders agree they “have to find a way to de-escalate the situation” in the Middle East because the Israel-Iran conflict risks inflaming the “tinderbox” of Gaza and hurting the global economy.
Starmer said he'd spoken to Trump about the issue, adding "the risk of the conflict escalating is obvious, I think, and the implications, not just for the region but globally, are really immense, so the focus has to be on de-escalation.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told reporters on June 16 ahead of the summit beginning in the Canadian Rocky Mountains that Germany is planning to draw up a final communique proposal on the Israel-Iran conflict that will stress that “Iran must under no circumstances be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons-capable material.”
But as Trump met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, he also stressed it was a mistake to remove Russia from the organization in 2014 and doing so had destabilized the world. He also suggested it would be a good idea to add China to the G7.
The U.S. president also seemed to put a greater priority on his planned emphasis on addressing his grievances with other nations' trade policies.
“Our primary focus will be trade,” Trump said of his talks with Carney.
This year's G7 summit is full of combustible tensions, and it's unclear how the gathered world leaders can work together to resolve them. Trump already has hit several dozen nations with severe tariffs that risk a global economic slowdown. There is little progress on settling the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and now a new conflict between Israel and Iran.
Add to all of that the problems of climate change, immigration, drug trafficking, new technologies such as artificial intelligence and China's continued manufacturing superiority and chokehold on key supply chains.
"We’re gathering at one of those turning points in history," Carney said. "The world’s more divided and dangerous.”
But as the news media was escorted from the opening session, Carney could be heard as he turned to Trump and referenced how his remarks about the Middle East, Russia and China had already drawn attention to the summit.
“Mr. President, I think you’ve answered a lot of questions already,” Carney said.
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