Bloomberg: G7 leaders fail to convince Trump to toughen stance on Russia
The discussion between the G7 leaders on Monday, June 16, did not prompt US President Donald Trump to tighten sanctions against Russia. This was reported by Bloomberg with reference to unnamed interlocutors familiar with the matter.
Trump urged Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine, but he resisted new sanctions against Russia despite repeated threats to impose them.
At the summit in Canada, the U.S. president further frustrated allies by saying sanctions are costing the U.S. a lot of money and repeated many of these objections over dinner, the sources said.
However, the statement to be released by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to say that the G7 supports the US-led peace effort, that Ukraine has demonstrated its readiness to hold a ceasefire, unlike Russia, and that Kyiv's allies need to continue to put pressure on Moscow through sanctions. A spokesman for Carney did not comment on the content of the statement.
European countries are increasingly questioning whether Trump can be trusted to put further pressure on Russia and are trying to buy time, Bloomberg notes.
They continue to engage with the U.S. president and not confront him, but at the same time seek to strengthen security ties with like-minded allies and decide how to help Ukraine as Washington is less and less willing to help Kyiv.
- Axios wrote that Trump could meet with Zelenskiy during the G7 summit in Canada.
- However, the US president left the G7 summit early and is returning to Washington.
