IRIA News

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The 2025 G7 summit in Canada on June 16, 2025, presented a critical opportunity for the world’s leading democracies to address mounting global crises, including the fragile global economy and ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

The originally intended three-day gathering was dominated by U.S. President Donald Trump’s controversial remarks, unilateral positions on international security, and an early exit that has left many allies scrambling to salvage diplomatic coherence.

The summit, which officially began on Sunday in Kananaskis, Alberta, brought together leaders from the G7 countries, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, along with high-level attendees from non-member nations including India, Brazil, South Africa, South Korea, Mexico, Ukraine, and Australia. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen were also present.

This year’s summit comes at a particularly volatile moment, with the Middle East on the brink of broader conflict following Israel’s aerial bombardment of Iran’s nuclear sites, the war in Ukraine grinding on with no end in sight, and a global economy teetering under the weight of rising tariffs and trade disputes. Against this backdrop, President Trump made headlines almost immediately.

Trump calls for Russia’s return to the group

During a bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Trump lamented Russia’s exclusion from the G7. “It was a mistake,” Trump said of Russia’s 2014 expulsion, which followed President Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Crimea. “The group should have Putin at the table,” Trump said.

Trump’s comments reopened long-simmering divisions among the G7 leaders. In 2018, also during a Canada-hosted summit, Trump had clashed fiercely with then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over Russia, prompting a diplomatic debacle and the iconic image of a standoff between Trump and then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Despite unified Western opposition to Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Trump’s repeated calls for Russian reintegration have undermined G7 cohesion and emboldened Moscow diplomatically. This year, Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz pushed back, reaffirming Berlin’s stance that “Russia must remain excluded until it fully respects international law.”

The Middle East crisis dominates

Much of the summit’s urgency, however, revolved around the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. Israel began a major airstrike campaign against Iranian nuclear infrastructure four days before the summit.

Some G7 leaders, including the European Commission’s Ursula von der Leyen, stressed diplomacy, telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that “a diplomatic solution remains the best way, in the long run, to address concerns about Iran’s nuclear program,” Trump struck a far more confrontational tone.

“Iran is not winning this war. And they should talk and they should talk immediately before it’s too late,” Trump warned. The U.S. president also issued an alarming call on his Truth Social platform: “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!”

Trump later added: “AMERICA FIRST means many GREAT things, including the fact that IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”

Trump’s remarks sent shockwaves through the summit, with multiple leaders reportedly caught off guard. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, along with France’s Macron, Germany’s Merz, and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, convened privately Sunday night to coordinate a de-escalatory message.

Merz said Germany would propose a communique stressing that “Iran must under no circumstances be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons-capable material.”

Despite the urgency of the situation, the summit ended up without a joint statement, largely due to Trump’s unpredictability and divergent views on major foreign policy issues.

Trump leaves early

Adding further disruption, Trump announced Monday evening that he would leave the summit early, skipping key Tuesday meetings on Ukraine and global trade. “I have to be back, very important,” he told reporters while posing for a group photo with fellow leaders.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, attempting to smooth over the disruption, said, “I am very grateful for the president’s presence and I fully understand.” However, many diplomats expressed frustration behind closed doors. A senior EU official noted: “We prepared months for multilateral coordination, only to see it unravel in two days.”

Trump’s early departure casts doubt over key issues still pending resolution, including a prospective U.S.-Ukraine defense package and trilateral trade talks with Mexico and Canada. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was set to meet Trump Tuesday, told reporters that “a defense package” was on the table, but its future is now uncertain.

Trade tensions

Trump also continued to push his protectionist economic agenda, doubling down on sweeping tariffs that many fear could provoke a global slowdown. The U.S. president has imposed 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum, 25% on autos, and a 10% baseline tax on most imports, rates he hinted could rise further by July 9, when a self-imposed negotiating window closes.

He did announce a trade framework with the United Kingdom, which had previously been unveiled in May. The deal includes tariff quotas, but largely maintains existing U.S. levies. Canada and Mexico remain subject to tariffs up to 25%, purportedly aimed at stopping fentanyl trafficking, despite provisions in the 2020 USMCA that protect some products.

“There will be no solution at this summit, but we could perhaps come closer to a solution in small steps,” Merz admitted about the impasse.

Following talks with Trump, Carney’s office released a statement that the two leaders “agreed to pursue negotiations toward a deal within the coming 30 days.”

Isolation or realignment?

The bigger question looming over the summit was not just what decisions would be made, but what Trump’s increasingly unilateral approach signals for the future of U.S. alliances. His skepticism of NATO, embrace of trade tariffs, and apparent willingness to escalate Middle East tensions without consulting partners have left allies questioning whether the post-World War II international order is being replaced with something far less predictable.

Trump also suggested he was open to inviting China to future G7 summits, a move that would represent a profound shift in the group’s composition and purpose.

As the media was being ushered out of the summit’s opening session, Carney turned to Trump and remarked, “Mr. President, I think you’ve answered a lot of questions already.” The comment, while offhand, captured the broader mood: the summit was defined less by consensus and more by confrontation, much of it stemming from the United States itself.

With no joint statement, unfinished business on Ukraine, and no roadmap on Iran or tariffs, the 2025 G7 summit may go down less as a moment of clarity and more as a symbol of growing geopolitical disarray.