Allies wrap up G7 meeting overshadowed by Trump's tariffs, Canada taunts
Diplomats from three countries said they believed they were 99 per cent of the way toward completing a joint statement that would reflect the group's positions.
«There is a great deal of unity within the G7,» Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said Friday.
«We talked about many different things.… We support the US proposal for a ceasefire, which is supported by the Ukrainians, and we are waiting for the Russian response.»
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the group arrived at common positions on Ukraine, the Middle East, wars in Africa and Chinese activity in the South China Sea.
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«All of that has united us,» he said. «There will be strong language on all of these issues. So this has been a unified conference in which we have found common ground. And I'm pleased at the effort and the sense of warmth that exists across the partners in the G7.»
Communique or not, Trump has thrown the bloc's once rock-solid unity into disarray by imposing whopping tariffs on steel and aluminum and threatening to up the ante with additional levies if there is any retaliation.
All G7 members are affected by the tariffs but perhaps none more so than Canada, the only one that borders the United States and the only one that Trump has personally antagonised with repeated derogatory comments about it becoming the 51st state.
The escalating trade war further strained relations between the US and its closest allies, which have already been shaken by Trump's position on Russia's war in Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on his first official trip to Canada and his first to a G7 event, heard a litany of complaints as he met with the foreign ministers of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.
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