The United States has once again come out against the European Union in its relations with Russia. At the end of the two-day G7 summit in Canada, the industrialized countries' disagreement with Russia became apparent again. According to Canadian sources, quoted by German media, the United States blocked a final joint statement in which the other six countries would have condemned Russia's actions in Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump left the summit after the first day, citing the situation in the Middle East as the reason. According to Canadian sources, in his absence, the US delegation blocked a text with "strong language" on Russia, which was supported by Germany, France, Italy, the UK, Japan and Canada.
Before returning to Berlin, Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) nevertheless expressed his satisfaction with the summit in Canada. The Chancellor said there was "a consensus" among industrialized countries to continue providing military support to Ukraine. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney pledged billions of dollars in additional military aid to Kiev. Trump had already rejected the Europeans' demand for tougher sanctions against Russia on the first day of the summit.
Merz said, however, that he was returning to Germany " with cautious optimism that decisions will also be taken in America in the coming days to impose further sanctions against Russia ."
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has reportedly suspended in recent weeks a working group that was set up to formulate a strategy to pressure Russia to accelerate peace talks with Ukraine, Reuters reports. The effort, which was created earlier in the spring, lost momentum in May as it became increasingly clear to participants that U.S. President Donald Trump was not interested in adopting a more confrontational stance toward Moscow, officials said.
Meanwhile, a senior Trump administration official is reportedly planning to travel to Belarus in the coming days to meet with the country's president. If the official, Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg, meets with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, he would be the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the authoritarian country in years.
The exact agenda of the meeting is unclear, although Kellogg has privately portrayed the trip as a step that could help restart peace talks aimed at ending Russia's war against Ukraine, Reuters points out. (A2 Televizion)
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