- US president to hold bilateral talks with Gulf, Arab and European leaders
- Ukraine war, Iran ceasefire and trade disputes loom over G7 gathering
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump will meet leaders from the Middle East and join a working session with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during next week’s Group of Seven summit in France, senior US administration officials said on Saturday.
Trump is scheduled to travel to Evian on Monday for the June 15-17 summit, where discussions are expected to focus on the war in Ukraine, the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran, trade disputes, artificial intelligence, energy security and critical supply chains.
The US president will participate on Tuesday in a working session with Zelensky and G7 leaders as Kyiv seeks continued military and financial support from its Western allies. While no formal bilateral meeting between Trump and Zelensky is currently scheduled, administration officials said the two leaders could meet on the sidelines of the summit.
“On Tuesday morning, President Trump will participate in a working session with G7 leaders and President Zelensky of Ukraine,” a senior administration official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
The meeting comes as Russian battlefield gains have slowed, according to US officials.
“Russian gains have more or less stopped,” one official said, adding that Washington wants the conflict to end “as quickly as possible.”
The official also described Trump as the only world leader capable of ending the Russia-Ukraine war, although no details were provided.
Trump’s relations with Zelensky have fluctuated since his return to office in January 2025, and his administration’s diplomatic efforts to broker an end to the conflict have increasingly competed for attention with the crisis in the Middle East.
The US president is expected to hold separate bilateral meetings with the leaders of Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, India and host nation France during the summit.
The status of US-Iran diplomacy aimed at consolidating the ceasefire that ended weeks of fighting between Iran and Israel is expected to be one of the dominant issues at the gathering.
According to one administration official, discussions could also touch on the possible involvement of France and Britain in mine-clearing operations in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route for global energy supplies that has been disrupted by the conflict.
Trump is also expected to use the summit to advance discussions on economic growth, supply-chain resilience, illegal migration and artificial intelligence. Officials said he would focus particularly on securing critical mineral supply chains needed for advanced technologies.
Trade tensions are also likely to feature prominently. A senior US official praised France for placing trade imbalances on the summit agenda, an issue central to Trump’s economic policy and his push for higher tariffs on imports.
The summit will bring together leaders from the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Japan. Trump has repeatedly advocated restoring Russia to the grouping, which became the G7 after Moscow’s suspension from what was then the G8 following its 2014 annexation of Crimea.
Following the summit, Trump will attend a dinner hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palace of Versailles on Wednesday before returning to Washington.
Macron’s office said the event would commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence at a site symbolic of Franco-American ties, where the 1783 treaty formally recognizing US independence was signed.
BY: The Times Union – AGENCIES
