G7 leaders said on Wednesday they stand united to support Ukraine, including its territorial integrity, and agreed to increase sanctions on Russia, in a joint statement.
The unity of the joint statement from the 15-17 June G7 summit in the French lakeside resort of Évian-les-Bains was notable as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has at times been hard to bring on board, particularly on the thorny issue of how to end the Ukraine war.
It followed what Trump called a "very good" meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other G7 leaders on Tuesday, sparking optimism that a peace deal could be struck. Zelenskyy said he could meet Trump again on Wednesday.
It also reflects how Ukraine has strengthened its position after successful drone incursions weakened Russia's hand.
The G7 leaders also welcomed the preliminary peace deal between the United States and Iran - which Trump signed on the eve of the summit, and said they are ready to contribute to its implementation.
On Wednesday, in a central theme of France's G7 presidency, leaders will turn their attention to critical minerals and global economic imbalances.
France is pushing partners to agree a statement on critical minerals that could include measures to help the West reduce its reliance on China and shield investors from counter-measures and dumping, diplomats said.
China spooked the global economy last year when some industries nearly ground to a halt after Beijing imposed export curbs on permanent magnets made of rare earths - an episode which highlighted how reliant Western supply chains in the energy.
"We are negotiating texts that are significant on critical minerals and, as a consequence, on economic sovereignty," a French presidency official said ahead of the summit.
Measures under discussion in recent months have included price supports, market standards, subsidies and guaranteed purchases, as well as means to scale up private investment in critical mineral supply chains outside China.
However, any measures announced at the G7 are likely to be first steps.
G7 leaders will also discuss how to rebalance global trade and address "predatory competition", mainly by China. France summarises the imbalances as: China produces too much, the U.S. consumes too much and the Europeans invest too little.
France's President Emmanuel Macron sought to engage China ahead of the summit in a last-ditch effort at cooperation. Beijing rejects EU claims of unfair subsidies and has repeatedly vowed "strong" countermeasures to the EU's proposed "Buy European" and revised tech sovereignty rules.
EU leaders will separately debate tougher and a more systematic use of trade defence measures against China's surging imports at a summit in Brussels on Thursday.
The EU last year recorded its largest-ever trade deficit with China of over €360 billion.
G7 leaders will also discuss AI over lunch on Wednesday, including the liability of bots and agents, and how AI presents what is true and false. OpenAI founder Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei are expected to attend.
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UN Secretary-General António Guterres delivered a stark warning at this year's COP31 summit, saying the climate crisis iss advancing faster than governments' efforts to contain it.
European leaders gathered in Dublin on Thursday, 12 November, for the ninth European Political Community (EPC) summit, with security, defence and energy high on the agenda. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev held talks focused on peace, trade and regional cooperation.
Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for 11 November. Today, we cover Russia-Ukraine peace talks, political tensions in Washington, strikes in Spain, espionage allegations involving Nvidia's CEO, and climate negotiations at COP31 in Türkiye.
Four million workers across Spain joined a general strike on Wednesday over the country’s deepening housing crisis, unions said, bringing disruption to factories, ports, shops and public transport just weeks before a snap general election.
Iran has unveiled a new underground missile and drone base, warning that it will respond forcefully to any attack, as tensions persist with the U.S. and oil tankers continue to be struck by naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
European leaders gathered in Dublin on Thursday, 12 November, for the ninth European Political Community (EPC) summit, with security, defence and energy high on the agenda. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev held talks focused on peace, trade and regional cooperation.
Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang is stepping down amid reports linking him to a woman suspected by U.S. authorities of spying for China, throwing the future of the $4 trillion chipmaker into uncertainty.
Tajikistan is urging regional allies to step up support for its border with Afghanistan following a series of deadly armed incidents. Despite building more than 80 new border outposts, Dushanbe says it needs further assistance to secure its southern frontier.
Eight people have been killed and at least 17 injured after an apartment building collapsed into a neighbouring construction site in Brooklyn, New York, as rescuers continued searching the rubble for possible survivors.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has thanked U.S. President Donald Trump for facilitating talks between Russia and Ukraine, but warned that any foreign troops deployed in Ukraine would be considered legitimate targets by Moscow.
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