The G7 Summit, hosted this year by Canada, is scheduled to continue on Tuesday with the arrivals of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and focus heavily on the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Iran.
Summit attendees published a statement late on Monday expressing support for the state of Israel following its announcement of “Operation Rising Lion” last week, military actions intended to prevent neighboring Iran from attacking Israel with a nuclear weapon. The operation began shortly after the United Nations, through the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), passed a resolution condemning Iran for violating international legal standards on nuclear development. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi revealed prior to the passing of the resolution that his agency had reason to believe Iran was running illicit uranium enrichment facilities and attempting to hide them from IAEA inspectors by “sanitizing” them.
The G7 summit took an unexpected turn on Monday evening as President Donald Trump departed host city Kananaskis, Alberta, reportedly to return to Washington and address Iran’s counterattacks against Israel and the potential escalation of the conflict.
“President Trump had a great day at the G7, even signing a major trade deal with the United Kingdom and Prime Minister Keir Starmer,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “Much was accomplished, but because of what’s going on in the Middle East, President Trump will be leaving tonight after dinner with Heads of State.”
As the news broke of Trump’s departure, the G7 countries issued a statement on the conflict between Iran and Israel, decisively backing Israel’s right to self-defense.
“Iran is the principal source of regional instability and terror. We have been consistently clear that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon,” the statement read. “We urge that the resolution of the Iranian crisis leads to a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza.”
“We will remain vigilant to the implications for international energy markets and stand ready to coordinate, including with like-minded partners, to safeguard market stability,” the statement concluded.
Invitees who are not officially members of the G7 — such as Modi, Zelensky, and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung — thus will no longer have an opportunity to meet with the American president. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, hosting his first major international event since winning the April general election, is reportedly scheduled to meet privately with these leaders.
Lee, who has been president for less than a month, is reportedly seeking an alternative avenue for a meeting with Trump. The G7 is Lee’s first major international engagement and, as a hard leftist, he is expected to significantly realign South Korea’s foreign policy following conservative former President Yoon Suk-yeol.
“As Trump suddenly returned today, it has become difficult to hold the Korea-U.S. summit that was scheduled for tomorrow. It appears to be related to the military conflict between Israel and Iran,” National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac explained. “The U.S. side contacted us around the time of the situation to ask for our understanding.”
Modi — who struggled to maintain cordial ties with Carney’s predecessor, radical leftist former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — confirmed on Tuesday that he had arrived in Calgary. In a social media statement, Modi was vague regarding the subject matter he hoped to address, referring only to “important global issues.”
“At the Summit, the Prime Minister will exchange views with leaders of G-7 countries, other invited outreach countries, and Heads of International Organisations on crucial global issues,” the Indian External Affairs Ministry told reporters prior to Modi’s arrival, “including energy security, technology and innovation, particularly the AI-energy nexus and Quantum-related issues.”
Modi has not visited Canada in over a decade, in part due to tensions with the prior government. Trudeau accused India of direct intervention in the Canadian political landscape and specifically claimed the Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of assassinating Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar — but later admitted Canada had “no hard evidence” corroborating the accusation. Prior to Modi’s antagonizing of New Delhi, Trudeau faced condemnation for “cultural appropriation” after wearing traditional costumes in India in 2018.
Carney is attempting to reboot relations with India after the Trudeau era, prompting Sikh protests nationwide in Canada. The prime minister nonetheless explained his decision to invite Modi in an economic context, given that the G7 is intended to be a meeting of the world’s largest economies.
“India is the fifth largest economy in the world, effectively the most populous country in the world, central to a number of those supply chains at the heart of a number of those supply chains, so it makes sense,” Carney said before the summit.
Ukraine has not confirmed whether Zelensky has arrived in Alberta at press time, but he is expected to attend a private meeting with Carney on Tuesday morning and a G7 leaders’ breakfast to discuss the ongoing Russian invasion of his country. Russian attacks on Ukraine have intensified in the past week, according to Ukrainian officials, who argued that Moscow is attempting to overshadow the G7 summit with its attacks.
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