Trump Declares 'I'm the Boss' as G7 Unites on Ukraine
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- Trump told G7 leaders 'I'm the boss' at the June 15-17 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, as the group issued a joint statement supporting Ukraine and imposing fresh sanctions on Russia.
- Macron called the summit a 'success' and said Trump had shown a 'real change in approach' on Ukraine, while Canadian PM Mark Carney and Italy's Giorgia Meloni also praised the consensus, contrasting with last year's G7 in Canada which ended without a joint stance on Ukraine.
- Trump warmed to Zelenskyy's argument that Ukraine's fightback is delivering results and that Russia cannot dictate terms for a peace deal, after years of US scepticism.
- Trump confirmed a preliminary US-Iran memorandum of understanding but warned 'if they don't behave, we'll go right back to dropping bombs,' while European allies privately cautioned that getting a lasting deal covering Iran's nuclear, ballistic missile, and proxy programmes remains a major challenge.
- G7 leaders agreed to step up coordination to cut reliance on China for critical minerals, with plans to align stockpiling and launch a new platform with an expanded role for the International Energy Agency.
- G7 leaders discussed AI over lunch, including bot and agent liability and how AI presents truth and falsehood, with OpenAI's Sam Altman and Anthropic's Dario Amodei participating.
Why it matters: The joint G7 statement on Ukraine — the first since last year's Canada summit ended without one — gives Kyiv leverage heading into any peace talks with Moscow, but European diplomats note that Trump's commitments remain unpredictable. The Iran deal adds another layer of uncertainty: Trump reserved the right to resume bombing, and allies fear the inexperienced US team won't secure a robust nuclear or ballistic missile agreement.
