Seven ministers from the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States were convened with the EU in the remote tourist town of La Malbaie, located in the Quebec Hill (Mercedes Quebec), and held a massive meeting on Thursday and Friday.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held talks with his colleagues on Tuesday with Ukraine in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and Kiev said it was ready to support a 30-day ceasefire deal.
But officials say the vague comments of Russian President Vladimir Putin have made delegates unclear about their status.
It was very difficult to make an agreed all-around final statement in the match of the first G7 meeting of the Canadian presidency, but diplomats said the atmosphere after that was positive and candid.
There is hope for an agreement, which they say is crucial to performance unity. “If we can’t reach a consensus on the communiqué, it’s a sign of the department. It’s not in the interest of any member of the G7 membership,” said Kaja Kallas, head of foreign policy at the EU, to Reuters, on the sidelines of the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. Kaja Kallas said she was optimistic that Ukraine had good wording so far and she hoped she could stay.
A Japanese official responded to Karas, saying that the failure to reach a deal would only benefit China and Russia.
The U.S. decided to impose a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports, immediately taking mutual measures from Canada and the EU, highlighting the tension.
“Under @Potus’ leadership, we will use forums like G7 to fight our opponents and stand by our allies. America first!” Rubio said on X.
Washington has tried to impose red lines on languages around Ukraine and opposed a separate statement to contain what Russia calls the Shadow Fleet, a vague transportation network that avoids sanctions while demanding a stronger language on China.
The draft communique seen by Reuters did not mention new sanctions on Russia.
However, it emphasizes the need for strong and reliable security assurances, which will therefore respect the ceasefire and be able to block and defend itself from future aggression.
The draft is much shorter than a statement in November. It urges Russia to follow unconditionally.
It also includes tougher languages as required by Washington and that Taiwan languages include more languages, which may encourage Taipei.
Since Trump returned to office on January 20, the United States has taken a less friendly stance towards Ukraine and is close to Moscow, pushing for a quick deal to end the war and asking European partners to take more burdens without publicly endorsing their role in future negotiations.
The two diplomats said there was also controversy about the language of Gaza and the Middle East, especially the concept of a two-state solution against the Israel-Palestine conflict, which the United States resisted and could eventually stop reaching a deal.
The G7 statement issued in February at the spacing of the Munich Security Conference did not mention the two-country solution. Karas said there could be similar compromises.
The draft also warns that targeted measures could be taken if Syria’s transitional authorities targeted “massacres” targeting civilians in coastal areas.
Tariffs to the 51st state
Trump said the G8 could be suspended for its claim to annexation of Crimea after Moscow returns to the organization.
Even Japan relies heavily on the security guarantees of the United States and finds itself in Trump’s shooting line.
A European diplomat said sarcastically: “It’s very difficult. Maybe we should wait for the G8.”
For our allies, nothing is more obvious than in Canada.
The relationship between the United States and Canada has been at an all-time low due to Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on all Canadian imports and his frequent contemplation of annexing the country to make it the 51st state.
Trump issued a new tariff threat on Thursday warning Europe that he could impose a 200% tariff on wine imports if wine imports no longer reject measures against U.S. whiskey.
Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said on Wednesday that she will attack on the G7 and coordinate with Europeans on response to pressure on the United States
