Calgary, Alberta
CNN
–
President Donald Trump is not planning to sign a joint statement calling for a de-escalation between Israel and Iran, drafted by Canadian G7 leaders, according to anyone familiar with the issue, but he hoped that officials preparing the document would be confident they would eventually add his name.
The draft statement, led by European officials at the summit, says Israel has the right to defend itself and Iran cannot obtain nuclear weapons.
Trump’s decision not to sign the statement sets an immediate gap with his counterparts as the summit is ongoing with the Canadian Rockies.
A lecture was being held among the G7 delegations on the language of draft statements a few hours before the meeting was held.
European officials led by French President Emmanuel Macron, German Prime Minister Friedrich Merz and British Kiel Starmer, along with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, were hoping to establish a consensus among leaders on the situation in the Middle East.
But Trump, who has questioned the utility of multilateral organizations like the G7, has withdrew his signature for now, hindering a show of resolve from major democracies around the world for now.
“Under President Trump’s strong leadership, the United States is back to leading efforts to restore peace around the world. President Trump will continue to work towards ensuring Iran cannot acquire nuclear weapons,” White House officials said in response to questions about his plans when he came to Trump’s statement.
A senior Canadian official said a delegation representing the seven G7 leaders continues to work on the language of the statement, with European leaders in particular still hoping they will reach a consensus.
“This is not a completed transaction yet. It is something that will be discussed at the leader level. We expect the majority of this conversation to take place in tonight’s Global Security session. It is too early to guess what will come out of that conversation or what won’t come out,” a senior Canadian official said.
Trump told reporters Monday morning before the summit began that Iran wanted to rule out conflict with Israel.
“Yes,” Trump told CNN when asked if Iran had seen signals or messages from intermediaries that he wanted to remove the conflict.
“They want to talk, but they should have done that before. I spent 60 days, they had 60 days and on the 61st I said, ‘We have no deals.’ They have to make a deal, and that is painful for both parties, but I would say Iran hasn’t won this war, and they should talk and they should talk right away before it’s too late,” he said when he met Carney.
Trump issued a two-month ultimatum this spring, in order to help Iran attack nuclear deals and face consequences. Friday – Day 61 – Israel launched an unprecedented strike in Iran, targeting nuclear programmes and military leaders.
The US President refused to say anything to encourage US troops to engage in the conflict.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” he said. It remains ambiguous when the US imposes the intelligence it offers to Israel.
Trump’s counterparts at the G7 planned to push US leaders on strategies to deal with Israel and Iran, delegation officials said it was because the Spiral Middle East conflict was hiding the first day of the summit.
Given the scale and scope of Israeli attacks, it is not clear to European officials that Trump will convince the talks that talks can continue.
Given its influence over Israel, Trump’s fellow leaders are more hoping to see how long the US will allow the conflict to continue, or whether Trump is planning to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to escalate, officials said.
Already, differences have emerged between Trump and Macron in terms of the role Russian President Vladimir Putin plays in mediating conflicts.
After a call with Putin this weekend, Trump said on Sunday that he believes Russian leaders can act as mediators. However, Macron dismissed the idea during his visit to Greenland, saying that Moscow’s own violation of Ukraine’s UN Charter disqualified his actions as a peace broker.
The difference between Putin’s two men was on full display Monday during Trump’s first release in the G7, which criticized the bloc for ejecting Russia 11 years ago.
It is a militant opening to the president’s outing in Canada, where he meets fellow leaders for the next two days in a wide range of subjects.
“No one named Barack Obama and Trudeau wanted to have Russia, and I think that was a mistake because if you put Russia in, you don’t think there’s any war right now,” Trump said in a meeting with Carney.
Russia was excluded from the then G8 after annexing Crimea in 2014. Justin Trudeau, who repeatedly criticized him on Monday for his decision to omit Russia, became prime minister a year later.
“They drove Russia out, but even though I wasn’t in politics, I insisted it was a huge mistake,” Trump said. He said Putin wasn’t on the table. “Make life more complicated.”
When asked about Putin later on about joining, he said, “I’m not saying he should be at this point.
CNN’s DJ Judd and Paula Newton contributed to this story.
This is an updated story with additional developments.