Why the G7 talks without Trump lost their meaning

This year's summit of the most powerful Western countries, the G7, in Alberta, Canada, was marked by the conflict between Israel and Iran. Because of this, US President Donald Trump left it prematurely. The leaders of Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Britain and Japan were orphaned. The debate about the war in Ukraine and perhaps even about US tariffs lost its meaning.

However, the Canadians, aware of Trump's unpredictability, tried to keep the summit program from causing controversy. It was supposed to mainly deal with energy security, protecting the supply chains of mineral resources, accelerating the digital transformation and solving forest fires. It was decided not to issue a communiqué from the summit in order to avoid disputes during its preparation.

The blow from Washington nevertheless came: Trump blocked the group's joint statement, which was supposed to condemn Russia's aggressive war in Ukraine. The reason was said to be the fear that it could jeopardize the negotiations to end the war.
The president has also added insult to injury to his colleagues with other statements. He said there would never have been a war in Ukraine if Russia had been in the G8 group, from which it was expelled by the other members after the annexation of Crimea in 2014. He also refused to impose further sanctions on Russia, saying he would wait to see whether a peace agreement on Ukraine was signed and what Europe would do. "Don't forget that sanctions will cost us dearly. This is not signing a piece of paper. It is about billions and billions of dollars. Sanctions are not a simple matter," he said.

In this context, it can be added that at the February US-Russian meeting in Riyadh, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, Kirill Dmitriev, reminded the Americans that US companies had lost $324 billion due to leaving the Russian market.

Trump's remark that without Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, there is no point in holding meaningful meetings in 21st century geopolitics is also indicative of the changing times.

This corresponds to the conclusions of a number of American analysts that Trump is considering a new world order based on agreements on spheres of influence between the US, China and Russia.

Whether this is realistic remains to be seen. But now, The Financial Times columnist Adam Tooze warns Europeans that Trump "is doing nothing more than confirming the obvious: the elite coalition that favored US global leadership has lost political influence".

The facts are also significant: if in the 1970s and 1990s the G7 countries accounted for 67 percent of global GDP, today it is only a little over 40 percent. Less than 10 percent of the country's population lives in the G7 countries.

Europeans may outnumber everyone else at G7 summits, but the problem is that they are increasingly sidelined in global affairs. Trump's America First strategy has made this even more apparent.
What surprises will the NATO summit bring?

Miloš Balabán, Právo Daily