EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France — U.S. allies at the Group of Seven summit of major industrialized nations worked Tuesday to push the war in Ukraine back up the agenda of President Donald Trump after more than four years of fighting sparked by Russia's full-scale invasion.
The Iran conflict has in recent weeks overshadowed the war in Ukraine that Russian President Vladimir Putin launched. Host President Emmanuel Macron of France said he'll seek to persuade Trump to continue supporting Ukraine and increase pressure on Russia to help reach a peace agreement.
As the U.S. under Trump has cut back aid to Ukraine, France and its European allies are now the biggest providers of military and financial support to Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joined G7 leaders for a morning working session but talks wrapped quickly, as leaders gathered for just 75 minutes, according to the French G7 presidency.
The Ukraine talks came on the heels of Trump's announcement of an agreement to end the 3 1/2-month-old U.S. war against Iran. Trump said Tuesday he'll be meeting one-on-one with Zelenskyy.
Trump said he wants to focus on Ukraine now, saying Iran will soon be “back in the rearview mirror.” He downplayed the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on the U.S. but lamented the death toll.
“The whole thing is ridiculous,” Trump said. “So, yeah, I’m going to do whatever I can.”
Meanwhile, the U.K. announced a new set of sanctions targeting the " shadow fleet " Russia uses to ship oil and gas, and the finance networks used by Moscow to evade Western sanctions. The ships targeted include several vessels recently purchased by Russia to transport liquefied natural gas from its sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project. Last weekend, U.K. troops seized a Russian shadow fleet vessel in the English Channel for the first time.
Trump has been frustrated by a lack of movement toward Ukraine-Russia resolution
Hours before the start of the G7 summit, Russia fired hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles at Ukraine's biggest cities in a barrage that killed 11 people and set fire to a religious landmark.
The attacks on Ukraine's biggest cities came after Zelenskyy and Putin spoke separately by phone with Trump on Sunday, the U.S. leader's 80th birthday. The exchange suggests Washington hasn't given up on its diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting that followed Moscow's all-out invasion of its neighbor in 2022.
While campaigning in 2024 for a return to the White House, Trump claimed he could end the Russia-Ukraine war within 24 hours of taking office. He has since acknowledged it has proved much harder than he initially thought.
Ukraine on Monday officially started European Union membership negotiations, launching a process that will require its government to commit to years of political reforms even as it fights the Russian invasion.
Ukraine sees EU membership as a security guarantee for a stable future once the war ends. Its best guarantee would be membership in the NATO military alliance, but the Trump administration insists that cannot happen, and others are wary of it joining while the war continues.
Iran war has been a flashpoint between Trump and European leaders
The U.S.-Iran ceasefire deal is getting plenty of attention at Tuesday’s sessions. Trump held one-on-one talks with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, and will meet with United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan later. The Gulf nations are not part of the G7, but Macron extended invitations to the leaders to take part in the summit at a fraught moment for the region.
G7 leaders will also convene a working lunch to discuss the situation in the Middle East, where the path ahead after the U.S.-Iran ceasefire agreement is expected to be the focus of the conversation.
In recent months, Trump has had sharp disagreements with Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni over his failure to consult them before the decision to go to war in Iran. Trump has threatened reprisals, including drawing down U.S. troops in all four countries, all NATO members, for their lack of support.
Despite those disagreements, U.S. allies seek rapid progress that could ease the economic impact of rising oil prices caused by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
“I think a lot of great things are going to happen in the Middle East right now, and very importantly the oil is plummeting down and the stock market is shooting up like a rocket today,” Trump said.
Macron said France and other Western partners are "ready to take action very quickly" to help reopen the strait peacefully. France and the U.K. have championed a mission to restore maritime security in the strait as soon as conditions allow.
Trump, however, appeared to downplay the need for a large international military deployment. “I don’t think we’re gonna need much help,” he said during his meeting with Macron. “But I don’t think it’s a bad idea to have a ship or two up here from a few countries. You’d be a great country to do it.”
The G7 comprises France, the United States, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom. Other guest nations at this summit, including Brazil, India, Kenya and South Korea, were invited to participate in some discussions.
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Madhani reported from Geneva. Jill Lawless and Samuel Petrequin in London contributed to this report.
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