The G7 summit in France could take place without US President Donald Trump in person. Concerns that his participation via video link would further alienate Western allies due to international crises were raised at the informal EU summit in Cyprus, according to La Repubblica newspaper.
The summit's host, French President Emmanuel Macron, had previously tried to secure the US president's attendance by moving the date forward a day from June 14, Trump's birthday, to June 15. That was before the leaders began criticising each other. The newspaper also recalls that the US has extended an invitation to Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend the G20 summit in Miami in December.
Trump's non-participation in the G7 summit could lead to his subsequent refusal to attend the NATO meeting in Ankara in July. Although Turkey has assured its partners of Trump's presence, recent events and US complaints against its allies over the refusal to help in Iran threaten the integrity of the format, the newspaper writes.
It points to numerous “cracks“ in the North Atlantic Alliance, starting with Trump's description of it as a “paper tiger“. In another sign of the contempt of European leaders, Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth rejected all French and British efforts to establish a “coalition“ in the Strait of Hormuz as “useless chatter“. “All this anti-European sentiment is pushing Trump to ignore the G7“, the newspaper writes, recalling that last year the American leader left the summit prematurely and without warning.