Donald Trump has quit the G7 early and is flying back tonight, the White House has confirmed, once again upending the summit and sparking chaos. The President will be jetting back to Washington DC to deal with the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, but before much of the summit discussions have happened, raising questions about whether any communique will be signed with US support.
The announcement is also a brutal snub to Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was set to meet the US president on Tuesday, just a day after he suggested Russia should be let back into the annual gathering. The US media is reporting that his decision to leave on Monday night means he will miss all of Tuesday’s agenda items, including bilateral talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said this evening: “President Trump had a great day at the G7, even signing a major trade deal with the United Kingdom and Prime Minister Keir Starmer.”
“Much was accomplished, but because of what’s going on in the Middle East, President Trump will be leaving tonight after dinner with Heads of State.”
The shock announcement comes shortly after the President sparked further fears about World War Three, by posting on social media that everyone in Iran’s capital should evacuate.
He said on his Truth Social platform: “Iran should have signed the “deal” I told them to sign.”
“What a shame, and waste of human life. Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON.
“I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!”
It’s thought Israel may be considering another strike on the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, south of the capital.
Seven years ago, Donald Trump also walked out of the G7 summit – also in Canada – as he had a furious row with the then-Canadian premier Justin Trudeau.
Sir Keir Starmer is yet to find out whether his newly-proposed sanctions package against Russia will gain the support of all G7 members.
A Downing Street spokesman couldn’t guarantee it would get cross-party support, after Donald Trump said late on Monday that sanctions against Russia “costs us a lot of money… You are talking about billions and billions of dollars.”
Earlier today the President also called for both Russia and China to be admitted to the G7, after Russia was expelled following the invasion of Crimea in 2014.
He said expelling Russia was a “big mistake”, adding: “You wouldn’t have that war. You know you have your enemy at the table, I don’t even consider, he wasn’t really an enemy at that time.”
Sir Keir did achieve a milestone with the US President earlier today as he finally got a promise that the trade deal announced last month will be implemented by the end of June.
He heaped praise on Sir Keir, telling reporters: “The Prime Minister’s done a great job. I want to just tell that to the people of the United Kingdom. He’s done a very very good job. We’ve been talking about this deal for six years and he’s done what [others] haven’t been able to do”