Bruising for a fight, President Donald Trump barreled into the Group of Seven summit on Friday June 8, confronting longtime U.S. allies over a burgeoning trade dispute and insisting Russia should be brought back into the fold.
Trump joined the leaders of major industrialized nations in an idyllic Canadian resort town after days of escalating conflict over new U.S. tariffs he slapped on imports of steel and aluminum
G7 leaders were scrambling on Friday night for a face-saving statement that could paper over the deep rifts caused by Donald Trump’s assault on global trade rules and his unilateralist approach to foreign policy.
Hours earlier he provoked a furious backlash from the UK and other world leaders by calling for Russia to rejoin the group.
But the talks were dominated by the need to find common ground on trade and senior figures, including Mr Trump, suggested that some kind of joint statement on the need to jointly re-examine commercial relationships might be found before their summit ends on Saturday.
Yet any consensus document is unlikely to mend the damage done by the American leader’s decision to impose stiff tariffs on Washington’s closest allies.
In contrast, as he set off for the summit, he had warm words for Moscow.
Emmanuel Macron leaves his mark on Donald Trump with white-knuckle handshake at G7
“Russia should be in the meeting,” he said. “Why are we having a meeting without them? Russia should be a part of it.
“You know, whether you like it or not, and it may not be politically correct, but we have a world to run.
