Trump asserts dominance at G7 as Ukraine policy shifts

The summit’s joint statement offers a boost to Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who arrived seeking to demonstrate that Russia has lost the leverage required to dictate peace terms. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney noted a distinct hardening in the American position, describing the new stance as a more realistic assessment of the battlefield. Despite this rhetorical shift, the longevity of Washington’s commitment remains a question for diplomats, particularly regarding the potential lapse of waivers on Russian oil exports.

Beyond the conflict in Ukraine, the summit has turned toward economic sovereignty and the challenge of Chinese market dominance. Leaders are debating strategies to secure supply chains for critical minerals, aiming to reduce dependence on Beijing after export curbs on rare earths rattled global industries. With the European trade surplus with China reaching €360 billion, the G7 is grappling with what analysts term a "second China shock." Discussions on trade imbalances and the regulation of artificial intelligence, featuring insights from OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, are expected to dominate the remaining sessions in France.