US President Donald Trump will attend a G7 working session with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy in France on Tuesday, a senior administration official said.
“President Trump will participate in a working session with G7 leaders and President Zelensky of Ukraine,” the official told reporters on the usual condition of anonymity.
The G7 summit will take place in Evian on June 15-17 and will start with a leaders’ dinner.
Ukraine will be addressed during the first working session, which will be attended by Zelenskyy, held the next day.
Europeans will be keen for the G7 to issue a united message of support for Ukraine. The US has halted all bilateral military donations, with Europe doing the heavy lifting when it comes to military and financial aid.
But Europe has been largely shut out of the peace talks, despite repeated calls from Zelenskyy for the continent to become more involved. A key point at Evian, the Elysée said earlier this week, “is to determine under what conditions G7 partners can encourage negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.”
“It will be essential to reach an agreement on the parameters or conditions of this dialogue, especially on the issue of territory,” said the French presidential palace.
Finally, Europe would like to emphasize that now is not the time to lift sanctions against Russia.
Another item on the agenda at the summit will be the situation in the Middle East and the security situation in the Strait of Hormuz.
The leaders of Egypt, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates will attend a lunch with their G7 counterparts on the issue.
After the summit, Trump will have dinner at the Palace of Versailles on June 17 with French President Emmanuel Macron to mark the 250th anniversary of US independence, the Elysée said on Saturday.
The palace on the outskirts of Paris is “a high place of Franco-American friendship where the treaty consecrating the independence of the United States was signed in 1783,” the statement also said.
(in)
