23 hours ago
1
G7 leaders said connected Wednesday (June 17, 2026) they basal agreed to enactment Ukraine, including its territorial integrity, and agreed to summation sanctions connected Russia, successful a connection that underscores Kyiv's increasing leverage arsenic it seeks bid talks with Moscow.
Also work | Moving from warfare to woody successful a profoundly divided region
The unity of the associated connection from the June 15-17 G7 acme successful the French lakeside edifice of Evian-les-Bains was notable arsenic U.S. President Donald Trump's medication has astatine times been hard to bring connected board, peculiarly connected the thorny contented of however to extremity the Ukraine war.
It followed what Mr. Trump called a "very good" gathering with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and different G7 leaders connected Tuesday (June 16, 2026), sparking optimism that a bid woody could beryllium struck. Mr. Zelenskyy said helium could conscionable Mr. Trump again connected Wednesday (June 17, 2026). It besides reflects however Ukraine has strengthened its presumption aft palmy drone incursions weakened Russia's hand.
U.S.-Iran bid deal: what we cognize truthful far?
The G7 leaders besides welcomed the preliminary bid woody betwixt the United States and Iran, which Mr. Trump signed connected the eve of the summit, and said they are acceptable to lend to its implementation. They added they volition marque efforts to diversify vigor proviso routes to trim dependence connected the Strait of Hormuz and summation vigor stocks.
On Wednesday (June 17, 2026), successful a cardinal taxable of France's G7 Presidency, leaders volition crook their attraction to captious minerals and planetary economical imbalances. France is pushing partners to hold a connection connected critical minerals that could see measures to assistance the West trim its reliance connected China and shield investors from counter-measures and dumping, diplomats said.
G7 leaders conscionable successful France aft U.S. and Iran state statement to extremity war
China spooked the planetary system past twelvemonth erstwhile immoderate industries astir crushed to a halt aft Beijing imposed export curbs connected imperishable magnets made of uncommon earths- an occurrence which highlighted however reliant Western proviso chains in the energy, defence and exertion sectors are connected these goods. "We are negotiating texts that are important on captious minerals and, arsenic a consequence, connected economical sovereignty," a French Presidency authoritative said up of the summit.
Measures nether treatment successful caller months person included terms supports, marketplace standards, subsidies and guaranteedp urchases, as good arsenic means to standard up backstage concern successful captious mineral proviso chains extracurricular China. However, immoderate measures announced astatine the G7 are apt to beryllium archetypal steps.
Over-reliance connected China
The 2025 restrictions were the latest successful Beijing's gradual tightening of its niche worldly and artillery metallic exports. It has besides curbed American companies' entree to tungsten and antimony, among others.
Western powers are racing to unafraid offtake from mines and physique up processing and recycling capacity, but it volition take years to dent China's ascendant position, which was decades successful the making. The United States projected successful aboriginal 2026 a trading bloc for captious minerals. However, countries are astatine likelihood implicit however this bloc could operate, particularly successful the discourse of the White House's "America First" agenda.
Economic Imbalances
G7 leaders volition besides sermon however to rebalance planetary commercialized and code "predatory competition", chiefly by China. France summarizes the imbalances as: China produces excessively much, the U.S. consumes excessively overmuch and the Europeans put excessively little. There's increasing alarm successful Europe astatine China's record commercialized surplus and its determination up the worth chain, successful what analysts picture arsenic a "second China shock" pursuing its dominance of low-value industries successful the 2000s.
France's President Emmanuel Macron sought to prosecute China up of the acme successful a last-ditch effort astatine cooperation. Beijing rejects European Union (EU) claims of unfair subsidies and has repeatedly vowed "strong" countermeasures to the EU's projected "Buy European" and revised tech sovereignty rules.
EU leaders volition separately statement tougher and a much systematic usage of commercialized defence measures against China's surging imports astatine a acme successful Brussels connected Thursday (June 18, 2026). The EU last twelvemonth recorded its largest-ever commercialized shortage with China of implicit €360 billion.
G7 leaders volition besides sermon Artificial Intelligence (AI) implicit luncheon connected Wednesday (June 17, 2026), including the liability of bots and agents, and however AI presents what is existent and false. OpenAI laminitis Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei are expected to attend.
