France - French President
Emmanuel Macron paved the way at a G7 summit for a diplomatic
solution to the standoff between Washington and Tehran over a
2015 nuclear deal, but there was little else to show from a
meeting at which allies were sharply divided.
Macron, host of the summit of seven industrialized nations
that ended on Monday in the French seaside resort of Biarritz,
said that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had told him he was
open to a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trump told a news conference before heading home that it was
realistic to envisage a meeting with the Iranian head of
government in the coming weeks. Both leaders are scheduled to
attend the United Nations General Assembly next month.
European leaders have struggled to calm a confrontation
between Iran and the United States since Trump pulled his
country out of Iran's internationally brokered 2015 nuclear deal
last year and reimposed sanctions on the Iranian economy.
"What unites us, and that is a big step forward, is that we
not only don't want Iran to have nuclear weapons, but we also
(want to) find the solution to that via political means," German
Chancellor Angela Merkel said at the end of the gathering.
Macron has led efforts to defuse tensions, fearing a
collapse of the nuclear deal could set the Middle East ablaze.
Trump ruled out lifting sanctions but said talks were
underway to see how countries could open credit lines to keep
its economy afloat. He indicated he wanted to address the
nuclear deal's timescale and said he did not want regime change.
"I'm looking at a really good Iran, really strong, we're not
looking for regime change," he said. "And we're looking to make
Iran rich again, let them be rich, let them do well."
But, apparently referring to Iran’s recent rhetoric about
its ability to attack U.S. interests, Trump suggested Iran would
meet “violent force" if it followed through on its threats.
Despite the headway made on Iran, the meeting ended with few
significant deliverables because there were so many issues
dividing the United States and its allies in particular.
These ranged from Washington's escalating trade war with
China, which many fear could tip the slowing world economy into
recession, how to deal with North Korea's nuclear ambitions and
the question of whether Russian President Vladimir Putin should
be readmitted to the group.
The U.S. president up-ended last year’s G7 summit in Canada,
walking out of the meeting early and disassociating himself from
the final communique having initially endorsed the document.
Trump said he had got on very well in Biarrtiz with fellow
leaders from the group that also comprises Britain, Canada,
France, Germany, Italy and Japan.
However, Macron decided ahead of the meeting not to try for
a communique after last year's quarrel, and in the end France
issued a terse one-page summit statement that mentioned trade,
Iran, Libya, Ukraine and Hong Kong.
Trump offered an olive branch to China after days of intense
feuding between the world's two largest economies over trade
that has spooked financial markets and worried his G7 allies.
Washington's dispute with Beijing escalated last week as
both sides levelled more tariffs on each other's exports.
However, on Monday Trump said he believed China wanted to
make a trade deal after it contacted U.S. trade officials
overnight to say it wanted to return to the negotiating table.
He hailed Chinese President Xi Jinping as a great leader and
said the prospect of talks was a very positive development.
Asked about the White House's apparent flip-flopping, he
said: "It’s the way I negotiate."
Trump skipped a summit session on climate change at which
they agreed to $20 million (R305.7 million) technical and financial help for
Brazil and its neighbours stop the Amazon forest fires.
Macron said Trump agreed on the initiative but could not
attend because of bilateral meeting engagements.
A record number of fires are ravaging the rainforest, many
of them in Brazil, drawing international concern because of the
Amazon's importance to the global environment.
Macron said there was no consensus on Trump's proposal to
invite Russia back to what used to be the G8.
Moscow was excluded from the group in 2014 after it annexed
Ukraine’s Crimea and then backed an anti-Kiev rebellion in the
industrial region of Donbas in eastern Ukraine.
Two European officials said that efforts by summit 'sherpas'
to agree on statements on global cooperation on artificial
intelligence and gender equality were blocked by the U.S.
delegation in talks that went into Sunday night.
"Let's say our sessions have been much harder and longer
than previously thought because one delegation blatantly blocked
almost everything, showing little will to really negotiate and
move forward," said a senior European diplomat, who declined to
be named.
U.S. officials were not available to comment on the impasse.