The G7 summit in Kananaskis, Canada, unfolded under intense economic and geopolitical pressure, against the backdrop of an intense military conflict in the Middle East, and the United States imposing new tariffs targeting even its own allies.
Leaders from Brazil and Mexico joined the gathering alongside the heads of the G7 nations.
A much-anticipated meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy was expected on the sidelines, but never materialised.
In an abrupt turn of events, Trump cut his trip short and returned to Washington.
The reason for his sudden departure remains unclear. “Everyone must evacuate Tehran immediately!” Trump wrote on his social platform Truth Social, before leaving the summit early.
Some, including French President Emmanuel Macron, speculated that Trump’s return was prompted by urgent matters linked to the escalating Israel-Iran conflict.
But Trump later declared his return was related to something “much bigger than that”.
His exit didn’t stop the remaining leaders from issuing a statement on the Middle East, pinning full blame on Iran as the “principal source of regional instability and terror”.
Israel’s role as the aggressor was notably omitted.
“We have been consistently clear that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon,” the statement said.
Things were a little more complicated with Ukraine.
Trump's disruption cast shadow on Ukraine
On day one, Trump called for Russia to be reinstated into the G7 and even floated the idea of bringing in China.
“You wouldn’t have a war right now (the Ukraine war) if you had Russia in,” he said. “And you wouldn't have a war right now if Trump were president four years ago.”
These comments somewhat overshadowed Zelenskyy’s visit to Canada.
Nonetheless, the Ukrainian leader arrived at the summit and held talks with other G7 participants. All countries, except the US, agreed on the need to continue sanctions to put pressure on Russia.
These discussions, however, proceeded without Trump.
According to media reports, no joint declaration was issued at the end of the summit — a move widely seen as an attempt to downplay divisions between Trump and other G7 leaders.
Has G7 run its course?
TRT Russian spoke with economist Yaroslav Romanchuk about the main features of the summit.
He believes that the G7 has essentially exhausted itself.
“The ‘Big Seven’ is increasingly turning into a complete semantic meaninglessness,” Romanchuk says.
“There is no longer any unity in the value basis of the heads of state. America, represented by Trump, has clearly stepped back from what once underpinned transatlantic unity. This summit may well be the most meaningless yet.”
According to him, the G7 once served as a coordinated platform of global leadership, but that has changed.
“Once upon a time, this was the agreed position of the leaders of those countries that could be considered beacons,” he adds.
Now, he explains, “there is no beacon itself, because the largest part of this beacon has simply fallen off.”
“America is trying to negotiate with Russia in some completely indecent form, and is entering into a tough confrontation with the second part of the beacon: the European Union.”
On Iran, instead of clearly defining the axis of evil and the axis of good, everything is devolving into an erratic back-and-forth, according to Romanchuk.
He argues that with the Israel-Iran conflict now added to the mix, Western nations appear increasingly powerless in the face of a Ukraine war that remains unresolved.
“The ‘Big Seven’ only confirmed that it is easier to make statements on climate and the ‘green agenda’ than to make decisions against real villains and real threats to the modern world.”
Asked whether Trump alone was responsible for the G7’s decline, Romanchuk argues that the group had long been ineffective.
In his view, it’s difficult to recall a single decision made at past summits that meaningfully translated into economic policy, strengthened political security, or ensured energy resilience.
“It was all just talk — a political club. As if they’d gathered to play cards or roulette, something entirely meaningless. It all felt like the (post-Soviet) CIS summits: they met, sat down, shook hands — and then what? Nothing. Just empty chatter.”
Trump, he adds, merely accelerated the bloc’s disintegration, stripping away any remaining illusion of shared values among its members.
Romanchuk believes that Ukraine as well as Europe should now forge its own path.
“Ukraine and Europe as a whole must start acting as if America doesn’t exist,” he adds.
“If the US wants bilateral relations, fine. But Europe needs a unified, independent security system. This is an adequate, strategic and long-term way forward.”
What’s needed now, he concludes, is concrete timelines, decisive policies, and full military and financial support for Ukraine — a country that, as he puts it, is currently “buying time for Europe.”
(This article was first published in TRT Russia)
