The China Mail - Trump urges Iran to talk as G7 looks for common ground

Host Canada had designed the summit in the Rockies resort of Kananaskis to paper over differences within the bloc of major industrial democracies, as Trump returns to the global stage in his norm-shattering second term.

But two days before the summit, Israel launched a surprise, massive military attack on Iran, which had been in negotiations with the Trump administration over the cleric-run state's contested nuclear program.

Trump, who has praised Israel's strikes despite his stated preference for diplomacy, said he believed a negotiated settlement remained "achievable."

"It's painful for both parties, but I'd say Iran is not winning this war, and they should talk, and they should talk immediately, before it's too late," Trump told reporters as he met Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Israel has struck major nuclear and military sites and killed leading commanders and nuclear scientists in Iran, which has responded with its own volley of drones and missiles on Israel.

Canada and European leaders have looked to draft a statement on the crisis, although it looks set to stop short of demanding a ceasefire.

Leaders will discuss the statement Monday evening, a diplomat said.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that G7 leaders share concern about Iran's nuclear program but there is "absolutely a focus on how we de-escalate this and that will be a central focus as we go into the talks."

"I do think there's a consensus for de-escalation," Starmer told reporters.

- Pressure on Iran -

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that a text being put forward by the Europeans would put the onus on Iran.

"We'll highlight again that Iran must never possess material that would allow it to produce nuclear weapons," Merz said.

"We'll highlight the legitimate right of the state of Israel to defend itself and we will also discuss potential additional measures to reach a diplomatic solution," he said.

Unusually, Japan -- which has historic relations with Iran and limited domestic pressure on the Middle East -- has broken with its Western allies and is the only G7 nation that has criticized Israel.

Israel's strikes while diplomacy was ongoing were "completely unacceptable and deeply regrettable," Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said.

Iran, since Trump pulled out of an earlier nuclear deal in 2018, has ramped up uranium enrichment but not at levels to create a number bomb.

Israel is widely known to have nuclear weapons but does not acknowledge them publicly.

- 'I'm a tariff person' -

The summit at a wooded resort under still snow-topped mountains comes after months of tumult on the global stage since Trump's return.

Trump, seeking to shatter a decades-old US-led global economic order, has vowed sweeping tariffs on friends and foes alike although he has postponed implementation until July 9.

Trump has also mocked host Canada, imposing economic pressure and repeatedly stating that the vast but less populated neighbor should become the 51st US state.

Trump said he was optimistic about reaching a solution on trade as he met Carney, a staid former central banker who has appeared to win more respect from the US leader since succeeding the flashier Justin Trudeau in March.

"I'm a tariff person," Trump told Carney. "It's simple, it's easy, it's precise, and it just goes very quickly."

"I think Mark has a more complex idea, but also very good."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to join the G7 talks on Tuesday and to speak to Trump, who had initially tried to force him into a deal with Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Trump has since voiced frustration that Russian President Vladimir Putin has not accepted a US proposal for a ceasefire.

The US president has previously mused about readmitting Russia to the G8, from which it was expelled in 2014 after invading and annexing Ukraine's region of Crimea, triggering a war which accelerated in 2022 with a full-scale Russian invasion.

Trump said Monday that Putin was "very insulted" by the G8 expulsion and that if Russia were still a member, "you wouldn't have a war right now."

Q.Moore--ThChM