WIREDGOV

EXPERT COMMENT

Other western leaders need to respond to the reality that the United States under President Trump no longer wishes to work collaboratively with them on many of the world’s most pressing challenges.

President Donald Trump’s decision to leave the G7 Summit at Kananaskis a day early was not unprecedented. Theresa May left the G7 Summit in Taormina a day early in 2017, following a terrorist attack in Manchester. And it could be argued that the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran was sufficiently serious to justify his early return to Washington.  

But the consequence of his early departure was that the president missed a critically important discussion with President Zelenskyy over maintaining support for Ukraine and putting pressure on Russia to accept a ceasefire. He was also absent from the single summit session with ‘outreach’ leaders from Australia, Brazil, India, Mexico, South Africa and South Korea on energy security.

Trump’s departure also reflects a much deeper challenge to the role of the G7 and an urgent need for the non-US members to rethink how they seek to engage with the president. 

Click here to continue reading the full version of this Expert Comment on the Chatham House website.