The last time Canada presided over a summit of a photograph went down in history. It was 2018, in Charlevoix. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, leaned over a table, apparently furious, in the direction of a Donald Trump who looked at her with disdain, among the faces of concern or circumstances of the French president, Emmanuel Macron; Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, or the then National Security Minister of the USA, John Bolton. No statement or any filtration could better describe how that appointment was developed, in which Trump accused the host, Justin Trudeau, of being “dishonest” and left as a site before the closure.
Seven years later, Canada again hosts from this Sunday and for three days a summit of developed economies, this time in Kananaskis, an idyllic – and isolated – site in its rocky mountains. For many, such as Japanese Shigeru Ihiba, German Friedrich Merz or host himself, Mark Carney, is his first G-7. It is also Trump’s first summit after his return to the White House. But as then, between Washington and its western partners for matters such as the tariff threats of the US president, to which Ukraine is now added or the contribution to NATO. The attacks between Israel and Iran and the danger of an escalation in the Middle East, an issue that has been added to the priority issues to be addressed, add new urgency to the situation.
Avoiding noticeable ruptures, and that the summit closes without memorable clashes will be the great mission of the brand new Prime Minister of Canada, which has before him the role of host of as part of the United States. Others want to make it clear that they will not let themselves be amylrated by the bravuces or pressures of the Republican. On the way to Kananaskis, the Frenchman Emmanuel Macron, another territory that Trump also has an interest in controlling. His stop, the Gallic President declared, sought to demonstrate the solidarity of his country and the EU on the “territorial integrity” and the “sovereignty” of the Arctic Island under Danish sovereignty.
“The best possible scenario that can emerge, in my opinion, is that at the end of the summit there have been no true fights,” says the president for the international economy of the international economy of the think tank Atlantic Council, Joseph Lipsky. A public confrontation between Trump and allied leaders “will only cause more division and will not benefit any country in the medium or long term,” he adds.
There will be no final statement, as was the case in past summits, to minimize the risk of disagreements or frightened. Instead, Carney will issue at the close of the meeting, on Tuesday, a “statement of the president” of summary of what was addressed in the two sessions. There will also be several statements of the group on the issues that the Canadian presidency has chosen as priorities, since the security in the fight against foreign interference in electoral processes.
Leaders will also examine the situation created by L, an exchange that a new barrage arrived on Sunday. “This issue will appear very up on the agenda of the summit,” Merz said before starting his trip. The goals, he explained, are to avoid that Tehran be able to do with nuclear weapons, guarantee Israel’s right to defend himself, avoid climbing and open space for negotiation.
In addition to the situation in the Middle East, or Ukraine, trade will be one of the great issues to be discussed, both in plenaries – the first session will be dedicated to it – and in informal, group or bilateral conversations. , are already underway or are outlined on the horizon, they are not part of the formal agenda, but they are present in everyone’s minds.
Trump, points Lipsky, will want to talk about a common front with which to face China’s rise. “Leaders can answer that this type of coordination … It would be easier if he was not imposing taxes on his allies,” says the expert.
To avoid possible trips in bilateral conversations between leaders – those talks in small committee which are the raison d’être of the G7-, the leaders and their delegations celebrated a whole range of contacts and previous calls, before their arrivals to Kananaskis throughout this Sunday.
Trump and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, tried in a telephone conversation on Saturday the negotiations about tariffs, “the tense geopolitical situation in the Middle East and the need for a closer coordination on the impact on energy markets,” the European leader explained in a message on social networks. The leader also reiterated EU’s commitment to achieve a favorable tariff agreement before July 9, the date that the American has set to impose taxes of 50% to the block.
Similar conversations were also produced between the delegations of the United States and Japan, one of the countries invited to the summit, such as South Africa (host of the G-20 summit this year), South Korea, India, Ukraine, Brazil or Australia. The Japanese prime minister, Shigeru ishiba, hopes to maintain a bilateral with the American to convince him to remove tariffs from Japanese vehicles. For her part, the Mexican president, also invited, assured that she will meet with Trump during the days of conversations in Kananaskis.
“The president is eager to promote his goals in all the areas that are going to be treated, including making the United States business relations fair and reciprocal,” said a high US position on Friday by reviewing the summit.
Ukraine
One of the appointments that will be analyzed more closely will be the possible bilateral between the American and President Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski, the second meeting between the two after his infamous encounter in the Oval Office in February, which degenerated in an unprecedented public anger of Trump towards the leader of the invaded country.
G-7 leaders plan to address the situation in the country in their sessions; Europeans will try to achieve American support for toughest sanctions against Moscow, especially in their fundamental oil sector. But given the position of the American, more prone to support Moscow than to kyiv, and the impact that the crisis in the near east is already leaving the prices of crude, it is likely not to achieve a substantial result. Ukrainian representatives seem to conform to Trump contacts develop in a friendly way.
The Summit in Kananaskis will be held just a week before the Annual NATO meeting, in Hague on June 24 and 25, where a good part of the participants of the Canadian event will be seen again to deal with Ukraine, European contributions to the Alliance and the future of the United States in the organization. Both meetings will mark the guideline on to what extent Trump is willing to collaborate with a multilateral system on which he has declared a deeply skeptical.
“The big issue here is if the United States is still committed to formats such as G-7. That will be the great test,” says Max Bergmann, a specialist in European affairs at the CSIS Studies Center.
