Carni: Trump took a “more realistic” position on Ukraine at G7 summit

According to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, the United States and Donald Trump arrived at a “more realistic view” of the conflict in Ukraine during the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France.

Carney made the statement on Wednesday, following the three-day summit, during which Trump held a bilateral meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump himself described the talks with the Ukrainian president as “very good,” Reuters reports.

After meeting with Zelensky, Trump publicly stated that “Russia must make a deal” to end the more than four-year war against Ukraine, expressing regret over losses on both sides. According to diplomats and officials who spoke to Politico, G7 leaders reached a broad agreement on Tuesday to increase economic pressure on Russia as part of efforts to bring Moscow to the negotiating table.

On Monday, Trump arrived in France buoyed by a preliminary ceasefire agreement with Iran, opening a 60-day window for technical negotiations on the nuclear issue. According to NPR, US allies moved quickly to push the Ukraine war back to the top of Trump’s priorities after the Iranian conflict had consumed a significant portion of his diplomatic efforts.

Throughout the summit, European leaders and Zelensky pressed to keep the Ukrainian issue high on the agenda. French President Emmanuel Macron signaled his intention to persuade Trump to maintain support for Kyiv and increase pressure on Russia toward a peaceful settlement. In an episode that was broadcast after a microphone was accidentally left on, Macron told Zelensky on Tuesday that he and Trump had had a “difficult discussion” the day before.

The final statement by G7 leaders, adopted on the last day of the summit, reaffirmed their unanimous support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, though the specific mechanisms for fulfilling commitments remain under discussion.

On Wednesday morning, Trump entered the room for the final working session after the other world leaders were already seated and announced to those present: “I’m the boss here.” Carney described what happened at the summit as a genuine shift in Washington’s position.