US Objections Mean G-7 Faces Prospect of No Joint Statement, Again

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(Bloomberg) — The Group of Seven faces the prospect of failing to agree to a joint statement again, even after the draft of the communique was significantly watered down, said people familiar with the matter.

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G-7 foreign ministers are gathered in Charlevoix, Quebec, until Friday. The people, who were granted anonymity to discuss ongoing negotiations, warned consensus may not be reached, leaving the group of nations unable to issue a joint statement. The same circumstances unfolded on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last month, when the US objected to strong language on Russia.

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Though Canada is working hard to find common ground, the efforts look set to fail, some of the people said, with US views too divergent from the rest of the compact. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, seen as one of the more traditional members of Donald Trump’s cabinet, is under pressure to disrupt proceedings, two of them said. 

The latest draft communique seen by Bloomberg News shows the ministers are considering welcoming the agreement between Ukraine and the US from Tuesday, calling on Russia to reciprocate “unconditionally.” They are also considering calling for “confidence-building measures,” such as the release of prisoners of war, civilian and military detainees, as well as the return of Ukrainian children. References to Russian aggression have disappeared.

Similarly, language around the Middle East has also been softened, calling for a “pathway that will lead to a two-state solution” in Israel and occupied Palestinian territories. The reference to a two-state solution may not be approved by the US, as it successfully resisted such language in a G-7 statement issued during the Munich Security Conference, a person familiar said. 

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Phrasing around the Indo-Pacific has meanwhile been strengthened, the draft shows, with ministers considering calling on China to “engage substantively in nuclear arms control” as well as name-checking tensions in the East and South China Seas. Ministers are also considering referencing human rights abuses suffered by the Uyghurs in China.

“In these stormy times, we of course also need to talk about differences and make clear how we support peace coming from different perspectives. In which form we will conclude this process we will see in the end,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a statement. 

One possible outcome is a so-called chair’s statement, some of the people said, in order to keep the G-7 alive. Such statements are issued by the summit chair and provide an overview of decisions made during the meetings but express views that may not have been agreed to by all participants.

Canada is also currently embroiled in a tariff war with the US. This G-7 meeting — held in the same rural Quebec town as the ill-fated 2018 summit that ultimately saw Trump rip up the communique — is largely about Canada trying to assess how to work with the new US administration. The northern nation is trying preserve some minimal common ground ahead of the leaders’ summit in June, the people said.

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The US has made significant changes to its foreign policy stances since the Trump administration took power, with effects reverberating across traditionally allied capitals. It has already vetoed a Canadian proposal to create a G-7 task force aimed at monitoring shadow fleets, a key source of revenue for Russia, Bloomberg reported last week.

The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Rubio and Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly embraced and shook hands ahead of a bilateral meeting on Thursday morning, and stood next to each other during the “family photo” of ministers.

In brief comments at the start of the first session, Joly told her counterparts that that maritime security was on the agenda, including “the use of growing shadow fleets,” as well as issues in the Red Sea, South and East China Seas and the Taiwan Strait. “So, looking forward to making sure that this is a success, working with all my friends and colleagues around this table,” she said.

Still, in a sign of Canada’s polite pushback against the US, the pens on the meeting tables were made with Quebec aluminum — a message against the Trump administration’s 25% tariffs on aluminum and steel. 

—With assistance from Alberto Nardelli and Iain Marlow.

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