G7 statement supporting Ukraine kiboshed after U.S. demand to ‘water down’ language

KANANASKIS, ALTA. — A joint G7 statement supporting Ukraine in the face of its invasion by Russia was kiboshed during the summit after the U.S. refused to sign on unless it was watered down, according to a Canadian government official. But during her closing press conference at the summit, Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni denied there was a plan for a joint statement on the war in Ukraine. “A joint statement on Ukraine was not expected,” Meloni said in Italian. “During dinner yesterday including President Trump, Prime Minister Mark Carney shared with all the leaders what would be his main notes for his Chair’s statement on the discussions on Ukraine… and we all agreed,” she added. Coming into the two-day summit of the world’s wealthiest economies, the Canadian source said six of the seven member countries (Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy and the U.K.) had agreed on “strong language” for a statement supporting Ukraine. But the shared statement hit a fatal roadblock when it was presented to the Americans on Saturday, the official said during a background briefing for reporters. The U.S. delegation said it would only sign on if the language was watered down significantly, said the source. They added that the Americans were reluctant to endorse the communiqué’s “strong language” as they try to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin back to the negotiation table. The source was not able to detail what in the draft statement the U.S. wanted watered down. But the changes were too significant for the other six states and the impasse was never resolved, the source said. Instead, much of the text from the failed joint statement is expected to find its way into Canada’s closing statement as chair of this G7 summit. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The impasse illustrates the growing divide within the G7 on certain issues like the war in Ukraine, with some observers suggesting that the summit is looking more like the G6 plus U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump has been far less critical of Putin and his invasion of Ukraine than his G7 compatriots during his presidency, going so far as calling for the Russian leader to rejoin the summit. Monday, Trump told reporters during a photo op with Prime Minister Mark Carney that excluding Russia from the then-G8 in 2014 was a “big mistake.” At the time, Russia was excluded after its invasion of Crimea, a prelude to its full-scale invasion of Ukraine years later. The lack of a joint G7 statement supporting Ukraine is all the more notable because Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy travelled to Canada to attend part of the summit. All leaders except Trump, who left the summit abruptly Monday evening to tend to the growing conflict between Israel and Iran, also attended a meeting session on the situation in Ukraine Tuesday morning. During a bilateral meeting with Zelenskyy, Mark Carney announced further Canadian sanctions against dozens of Russian organizations or individuals and over $4 billion in additional support for Ukraine. Zelenskyy thanked Carney for his invitation and his “very important words, warm words” and support for Ukraine. “Ukraine has had, our family has had, a very difficult night, one of the biggest attacks from the very beginning of this war,” said Zelenskyy said, alluding to an overnight missile attack on Kyiv, which he said killed 12 people and injured 130. “It was a big attack on civilian infrastructure.” National Post, with additional reporting from Tyler Dawson. cnardi@postmedia.com

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