Leaders at the 52nd G7 Summit spent the second day focused on two active conflicts: the US-Iran peace framework and Russia’s ongoing war on Ukraine.
On Iran, Trump confirmed the Strait of Hormuz will be fully open by Friday, when the deal is formally signed in Geneva. Host President Emmanuel Macron set the tone early, calling for a “solid, serious agreement that is finalised. Both France and the United Kingdom confirmed their willingness to lead a multi-national maritime mission to clear the Strait and to re-establish safe shipping. UAE, Qatar and Egypt leaders discussed wider Middle East stability.
The summit began amid a massive Russian strike on Ukraine. Moscow fired hundreds of drones and missiles at Ukrainian cities hours before proceedings began, killing 11 people. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that Putin’s war economy has never been weaker. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who attended the summit, said he was willing to meet Putin directly in the French town of Evian. No response has been received to the offer.
Trump indicated he intends to shift focus to Ukraine once the Iran deal is signed, describing both Zelensky and Putin as open to movement on the war. The summit reflects a reconfigured global agenda in which two simultaneous conflicts are shaping the priorities of the world’s leading economies, with Macron’s France attempting to anchor both tracks toward resolution.
