EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France (AP) 鈥� Right after his party celebrations, U.S. President is heading to a summit in France of the of powerful democracies to dive into issues 鈥� Iran, Ukraine, trade and more 鈥� that have been sources of friction with allies he will be meeting.
Hours before leaving Washington, Trump announced an agreement to end 鈥� a development that could change the dynamic for the G7 leaders during the talks from late Monday to Wednesday.
Just days ago, when the Iran-U.S. ceasefire was hanging by a thread, with , the gathering on the shores of Europe鈥檚 largest Alpine lake appeared headed for stormy waters.
Analysts speculated that tempers could flare and that Trump might not stick around for long in Evian-les-Bains, the Alpine spa town that’s been enveloped in for the G7 leaders and guests also invited by French President , the host.
Aside from France and the U.S., the other G7 nations are Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom.
Here’s what to know about their latest annual summit:
Summit outcomes could depend on Trump’s mood
Shared values and interests, leaders’ personal chemistry and of G7 gatherings 鈥� the club first came together in 1975 to brainstorm fixes for the ailing global economy 鈥� have facilitated discussion at previous meetings.
鈥淢any of the great G7 summit initiatives have come from leaders鈥� spontaneous combustion, created by them on the spot, based on free, unrestricted dialogue about the values, memories and even the sports, like baseball, that they share,鈥� said John Kirton, a G7 specialist at the University of Toronto.
But Trump鈥檚 relationships with European allies have been fraught even before he launched the Iran war with Israel in February without consulting them. The Evian gathering is their first get-together since then.
Allies that Trump berated for refusing to join the war are likely to greet any Iran deal with relief if it reopens the and enables Persian Gulf energy exports to flow freely again.
Ukraine wants to make its case to Trump
As host, Macron has packed the meatiest and potentially most contentious topics into the summit鈥檚 first 24 hours, including the Iran war and its impact on energy supplies and the that鈥檚 largely slipped down the White House’s list of top priorities.
Tuesday’s morning session on Ukraine will afford invited guest President Volodymyr Zelenskyy an opportunity to that Ukrainian forces are making against the Russian invasion. If Zelenskyy is able to convince Trump that Russian President cannot achieve his aims in the war militarily, he might perhaps also be able to persuade him that Putin should be pushed to .
After his by Trump and Vice President last year, Zelenskyy now has “a significantly stronger hand,鈥� said Maria Snegovaya, a Russia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington, D.C., think tank.
The Trump administration 鈥渄oes tend to look more favorably at those states that have certain positions of power tilting in their favor,鈥� she said.
Outlook uncertain for talks on Iran
A lunch meeting Tuesday on the Middle East could go any number of ways. The U.S.-Iran deal is expected to be signed on Friday, followed by technical talks on details over the next 60 days. Trump will be pressed for more information about the terms of the agreement.
If it reopens the Strait of Hormuz, France and Britain are expected to make the case that they could help rid the narrow waterway of any mines and escort tankers through it. They have been working on such plans with other nations but have been waiting for a stable ceasefire to launch the mission.
G7 leaders are also expected to talk about developing other energy supply routes out of the Gulf, including via Egypt. The Egyptian president, , as well as Qatar鈥檚 ruling emir and the United Arab Emirates’ president will join those talks. Trump is also meeting with each of those regional leaders privately during the summit.
A dense agenda of other issues
China, is expected to be a focus of economic talks on Wednesday. G7 nations are concerned that China is flooding export markets with subsidized products, unfairly out-competing their own industries and destroying jobs. China’s economy dwarfs those of all G7 nations except the United States.
Discussions are also scheduled on artificial intelligence, including how to protect young people online, and how to economically aid developing countries.
Indian Prime Minister and Brazil鈥檚 President are attending some of the summit. So, too, are the leaders of South Korea and Kenya.
The G7 has been a force for more than 50 years
The G7 countries take turns hosting and organizing activities. France inherited the G7 presidency from Canada, last year鈥檚 summit host, and will pass it to the U.S. in 2027.
The , in Rambouillet, France, in 1975, brought together the leaders of six nations 鈥� France, West Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S. 鈥� for brainstorming on how to speed their recovery from the since World War II. Canada joined the following year, making the G7.
No G7 leader has ever skipped an annual summit, a perfect attendance record for more than 50 years, said Kirton, the University of Toronto specialist.
Membership has always been limited to democracies, enabling Russia to join as a fledgling democracy in 1998 but ruling out Communist Party-ruled China.
The club has broken off with Russia since 2014, when Putin seized from Ukraine, foreshadowing the full-scale war now raging since 2022.
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Associated Press writers Jamey Keaten in Geneva and Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed.
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