Trump’s call to bring Russia back jolts G7
EU AGREED TERMS FOR MOSCOW’S RETURN ARE NOT MET — MERKEL
President Donald Trump yesterday said Russia should be readmitted to the Group of Seven leading economies, breaking with other world leaders who have insisted that Moscow remain ostracised after its 2014 annexation of Crimea.
“Now, I love our country. I have been Russia’s worst nightmare . . . . But with that being said, Russia should be in this meeting,” Trump said as he left the White House. “Whether you like it or not, and it may not be politically correct, but we have a world to run . . . . They should let Russia come back in.”
However, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters that representatives of EU countries agreed that the conditions to readmit Russia were not yet met. Trump’s comments just hours before he arrived in Canada for the summit have further scrambled talks with other leaders, most of whom were already fuming about the US leader’s protectionist trade policies.
Merkel, meanwhile, floated an idea to set up a mechanism to resolve trade differences, a French official said as consensus appeared to elude G7 leaders. “It’s highly unlikely there will be a final communique,” a G7 official said.
Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron of France have met briefly and discussed trade, an US official said.
Europe, Canada and Japan are largely united in opposition to Trump’s protectionism while trying to find ways to bridge the divide and avoid rupturing the G7.
President Donald Trump will leave early from the Group of Seven summit in Quebec, where he’ll face backlash over his trade policies, and head straight to Singapore to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
G7 leaders are meeting yesterday and today in what’s shaping up to be the most divisive gathering of leaders from major industrialised nations in years. America’s closest allies are frustrated by Trump’s imposition of steel and aluminium tariffs last week, as well as his decision to withdraw the US from the Iranian nuclear accord and the Paris climate agreement.
“Looking forward to straightening out unfair Trade Deals with the G7 countries,” Trump said yesterday in a Twitter posting. “If it doesn’t happen, we come out even better!”
Deputy assistant
Trump will leave the gathering at 10:30am today and put Everett Eissenstat, his deputy assistant for international economic affairs, in charge for the remaining sessions, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement on Thursday.
The early exit will give Trump about 24 hours to meet with allies and try to defuse the escalating trade dispute. French President Emmanuel Macron has warned he won’t sign the traditional concluding joint statement unless there’s progress on tariffs and other contentious issues. The European Union has said that it’s maintaining low expectations for the outcome.
The agenda after Trump’s departure today includes sessions on climate change and clean energy and oceans; meetings with leaders from countries outside the G7, and the closing press conference by the summit’s host, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The tensions have been particularly evident between and Trudeau and Trump. Trudeau has been among the most vocal critics of the steel tariffs, describing the move as lacking common sense, in sharp contrast from the conciliatory tone he had taken since Trump’s election.
Trump on Thursday accused Trudeau of “being so indignant” given that Canada protects its dairy sector with high tariffs.
When asked for a response to Trump’s remarks, a senior Canadian official said that the nations can manage their differences through discussions. Trudeau was scheduled to meet with Trump at 5pm yesterday, the official said at a press briefing in Quebec.
Trump is set to hold the first meeting between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader on June 12.
Looking forward to straightening out unfair Trade Deals with the G7 countries. If it doesn’t happen, we come out even better!”
US President Donald Trump’s Twitter posting