Sadaf Sundas Riaz ( SCN Analysis)
Leaders at G7 summit need to challenge Trump without ganging up on him
merica’s allies fear US policy is risking a global recession but they have to take care not to alienate the president.
The G7 summit in Kananaskis, Canada is likely to be dominated by efforts to persuade Donald Trump to dilute an America-first strategy, which world leaders fear may put the global economy into recession, and entrench the war in Gaza, Ukraine and Iran – three conflicts Trump once promised to solve.
The summit represents the first collective opportunity for western leaders to challenge Trump with the consequences of his unilateralism, but with the world on a knife-edge, the six leaders cannot risk being seen to gang up on him and spark a presidential explosion.
The last time Trump attended a G7 summit hosted by Canada, in his first term in 2018, he arrived late, demanded Russia be permitted to attend future gatherings, described former prime minister Justin Trudeau as dishonest and weak, and then from his departed plane tweeted that the US was withdrawing from the communique he had agreed to sign.
The current Canadian host, Mark Carney, might not even attempt to agree a joint communique at the summit if he fears it will be a recipe for fruitless rows, but that would be a last resort. Out of deference to Trump, the climate crisis has already been erased from the agenda.
The largely informal talks provide a rare change for the leaders to press Trump about shared values and specifically on a timetable to impose further sanctions on Vladimir Putin, a step he has repeatedly delayed. Volodymyr Zelenskyy will also be present, marking the first time the two men will have met since Russia and Ukraine failed to agree a ceasefire in Istanbul.
European leaders will test Trump to see if he will agree to the price cap on Russian oil being lowered from $60 a barrel to $45, a means of undercutting the Russian war budget. The concept of the cap was invented at the G7, and tightening it is included in Europe’s planned 18th sanctions package.
The one area of unity may come in backing a strategy against China, including ensuring secure supply lines on critical minerals.
But Trump’s erratic handling of the conflict between Israel and Iran is likely to top a crowded agenda. The four European powers – Germany, France, the UK and Italy – will express their support for Israel’s right to defend itself, but in private calls to Trump have urged de-escalation.
Diplomats had hoped Iran could be persuaded to attend the Oman-mediated talks with the US on Sunday, but the talks – from which Europe had been excluded and which offered the