KANANASKIS, Canada, June 16 (Agencies) - Group of Seven leaders including US President Donald Trump prepared to hold talks Monday in the Canadian Rockies, tackling issues including whether they can find common ground on an escalating conflict between Iran and Israel.
The three-day gathering in the mountain town of Kananaskis marks the return to the international diplomatic calendar for Trump, who has stunned allies by defying norms and slapping sweeping tariffs on friend and foe alike.
The summit is taking place amid a global trade war started by Trump, who is using tariffs as a way to rebalance trading relationships. He has said the US has been "looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike".
It also comes as World Bank predicts the global economy will see the slowest decade for growth since the 1960s as the effect the US tariffs are felt, making it likely there will be some awkward - or "frank", in diplomatic lingo - conversations at this family gathering.
A discussion on the global economy will kick off the summit on Monday morning.
But Trump's November election win has shifted the global agenda beyond trade. The gathering offers the president a chance to secure wins on some of his other priorities, such as migration, critical minerals, security and drug trafficking - all of which are on the agenda later in the day.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had designed an agenda aimed at minimizing disagreements within the club of wealthy industrial democracies -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.
But Israel shocked the world two days before the summit with a surprise, massive military campaign against Iran.
Canada is now sounding out countries about making a joint call on Israel and Iran, diplomats said.
The statement could call for de-escalation or could simply back Israel, saying that it has a "right to defend itself" due to Iran's contested nuclear work.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen told reporters that she spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the summit and agreed that Iran was to blame.
"Of course I think a negotiated solution is, in the long term, the best solution," she said, stopping short of calling for an immediate ceasefire.
Trump has praised Israel's strikes, noting it used US weapons, even though Netanyahu defied his public calls to hold off as the United States sought a negotiated solution.
Unusually, Japan, which historically has maintained cordial ties with Iran, made a forceful break with allies in the United States and Europe when it denounced Israel's strikes as "deeply regrettable."
European powers have all steered clear of criticizing Israel on the Iran strikes, despite separate concern about the humanitarian situation in besieged Gaza.
French President Emmanuel Macron has called for restraint and urged Iran to re-enter talks with the United States, while also blaming Tehran for escalating tensions over its nuclear program.
Trump is visiting Canada despite his mockery of the United States' northern neighbor, which he has said would be better off as the 51st state.
