This strange point G7...
The French resort town of Biarritz, located on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, has been hosting the annual GXNUMX summit since last Friday. The topic of the summit is usually set by the host party.
On Saturday afternoon, French President Macron, in an address to the citizens of the republic, announced a list of priority issues, in his opinion, offered to participants for discussion: resolving international crises, de-escalating trade disputes, the situation with fires in the Amazon and their impact on the environment, as well as the fight against inequality in the world.
From the very beginning, the summit agenda raised a lot of questions and even protests. The Brazilian authorities were the first to get excited, accusing Macron of “colonial thinking,” with a clear subtext: “What do you care about the burning forests of the Amazon when it’s our problem?”
The discussion plan proposed by Macron caused dissatisfaction among US politicians. The American side initially insisted that the main topic of discussion at the summit should be a possible global financial crisis and security problems for US allies. Moreover, the Washington Post suggested that the summit hosts will now have to fear President Trump, “who will come and destroy everything.”
In general, the summit did not go well from the very beginning. The causes of the conflict lie on the surface. Macron set his goal to make guests feel “how great it is that we are all gathered here today,” inviting guests to casually scribble about the weather on Mars and go home, satisfied with the meeting in a pleasant environment.
It is clear that it is in principle impossible to make any concrete decision to sit through a meeting in a French resort town about the rampant burning of the Amazon forests or, say, about the far-fetched problem of “persecution of Chechen gays.” Empty declarations do not count.
Trump, in turn, is eager to communicate with colleagues on problems created by the hands of the United States and Trump himself: the US trade war with China, the US trade war with the European Union, the security problems that have arisen for the whole world after the US withdrawal from the INF Treaty. This is the very case when the mess brewed by one bad head must be cleared up by the entire “free world”.
All this led to the fact that even before the start of the G7 summit, its participants split into two unequal interest groups - the United States and everyone else.
The US delegation said it was “furious”, accusing its hosts that the organization of the GXNUMX summit was aimed at “isolating the United States” because the topic of discussion was “niche rather than global issues.”
Trump became excited even before flying to France, recalling Macron’s introduction of an additional three percent tax on the products of American IT companies. In response, Donny told the world that only America can collect taxes from American companies and promised, “in response to Macron’s stupidity,” to impose duties on French wines “the likes of which have never been seen before.” And, to further offend the French President, he added that “American wine is better than French.”
The governments of France, Germany and Great Britain also got into trouble. Before flying to the summit, Trump attacked them with criticism that the EU does not want to host ISIS militants captured in Syria. Trump threatened that, regardless of the wishes of the leaders of France, Germany and Great Britain, the United States will return captured militants, taking into account their citizenship, even if they have to be released.
Trump, already in France, demonstrated his previously expressed readiness to solve global problems in a rather paradoxical way by refusing to meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, who arrived in Paris last Friday for negotiations with his French counterpart and the President of France.
Iranian and European representatives hoped that the G7 platform would host consultations among the participants in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian nuclear program, from which the United States unilaterally withdrew in May 2018. It was even reported that Macron received a mandate to negotiate with Tehran from all G7 participants, but American sources disavowed this statement, pointing out that Trump did not discuss this possibility and denies it.
As The Guardian newspaper reports, citing its own diplomatic sources, at the meeting of leaders the question of returning the G7 to the G8 format was raised, inviting Russia to participate again on the sidelines of the summit. The initiator of this idea was the American President.
A tense discussion began on this issue among the summit participants. Trump, in particular, insisted that “Russia must be present in the room to discuss the problems of Iran, Syria and the DPRK.”
Trump's colleagues largely disagreed with his arguments.
The publication notes that Japanese Prime Minister Shinjo Abe was neutral about Trump’s proposal, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and French President Macron supported the initiative, while other participants opposed Russia’s return to the G7. The head of the European Council, Donald Tusk, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson were the ones who were the most stressed.
a couple of the most stubborn
Johnson is still affected by the aftertaste of the scandal surrounding the poisoning of the Skripals, while Tusk said that the restoration of the GXNUMX “would be a slap in the face to Ukraine.”
Nevertheless, despite Donnie’s opposition, the summit ended in Macron’s victory. The parties agreed to allocate as much as €20 million to extinguish fires in the Amazon, and the French President gave each of the leaders a symbolic watch made of plastic caught in the ocean as a farewell gift. Observers, in turn, noticed that Trump’s wife Melania was drinking French wine with noticeable pleasure, despite the harsh promises of her husband.
After the close of the G7 summit, Macron and Trump gave a joint press conference. Trump tried to reassure the public by announcing the possibility of concluding a trade deal between the United States and China as a sign of the end of the trade war, noting that this would benefit both countries. Macron, on behalf of France, welcomed this decision.
Touching on the topic of Iran, Macron lamented the problems that Tehran is experiencing due to American sanctions and expressed hope that the US abandonment of the embargo on Iranian oil will allow the parties to “move in the right direction.” Trump assured that “the United States does not seek a change of government in Iran, but opposes its creation of nuclear missiles.” And he added that the deal on Iran’s nuclear program turned out to be unfavorable for the United States. Washington allegedly spent “billions of dollars on it without receiving anything in return.”
The US President reassured the public that he would meet with the leadership of the Islamic Republic “when he is ready” and paid a compliment, saying that “nice people live in Iran.”
A little later, however, the inconsistent Donnie threatened that “if Iran continues to do what it is doing, it will face real force.” Understand it as you wish.
Macron announced a meeting of the Normandy Four in September, which was recorded at the final part of the G4 summit, from which it follows that the United States and Great Britain, contrary to Zelensky’s wishes, remain outside the format.
Saying goodbye to Macron, Trump once very sharply shook his hand, then paternally patted the French president on the back, muttering “Good job.”
After Macron left, Trump again returned to the topic of concluding a trade deal with China, this time dictating the condition: “If it is fair and good for the United States.” A little later, Donny boasted that thanks to him, the United States won back $100 billion from China by introducing protective duties, but at the same time kept silent about the fact that China regained what it had lost by introducing symmetrical measures. If this is what Trump means when he talks about fairness and goodness, then a deal between the two major economic players is postponed indefinitely. The trade war will continue!
Trump promised to hold the next G7 summit at the Trump National Doral Miami Golf Resort, a resort he owns in Florida, assuring those present that he would not make a cent of profit from it.
Trump also commented on Russia's possible return to the G7 club, saying that "it's better when they are in the room, not behind it." The US President is ready to invite Vladimir Putin to the next summit, but he is not sure that he will accept the invitation. Remembering that all the fuss arose because of Crimea, Donny once again blamed former US President Barack Obama for the confrontation.
The event was summed up by the head of the European Council, Donald Tusk, who listed all the topics discussed by the G7 participants, emphasizing that “the summit was held in difficult conditions.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry treated Trump’s statement and the subsequent chatter of the leaders of the “free world” as an attempt to “marry me without me.” The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Lavrov, noted that Russia has nothing to do with this and does not intend to, and Kremlin press secretary Peskov reported “the decreasing relevance of the G8 format for Russia.”
Summing up the results of the summit, one should note the growing contradictions in the noble family of leaders of the “free world”. So far they are not insurmountable and irreversible, but who knows what awaits them ahead.
In the current situation, Russia’s return to the platform of the degenerating G7 is not only unnecessary, but also undesirable. It is clearly noticeable that as soon as the conversation turns to our country, the scolding dears stop swearing and happily unite against Russia, sometimes merging in quarrelsome communal ecstasy. “Our Western partners” are always happy to be friends against Russia, and even for the sake of such an opportunity they are ready to forget about civil strife for a while.
Participation in the G8 summit is, of course, an honor, but the “wolf and seven little goats” atmosphere that comes with it, where “little goats” is a verb, reduces to zero all the positive aspects for Russia from access to this exclusive get-together.
Russia, as all interested parties note, has enough other platforms for discussing various international issues. Why should Russia return to the narrow circle of society “How to rule the world without attracting the attention of orderlies,” which has long needed the help of orderlies?
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