Under
pressure from allies, U.S. President Donald Trump backed a pledge to fight
protectionism on Saturday, but refused to endorse a global climate change
accord,
saying he needed more time to decide.
The summit
of Group of Seven wealthy nations pitted Trump against the leaders of Germany,
France, Britain, Italy, Canada and Japan on several issues, with European
diplomats frustrated at having to revisit questions they hoped were long
settled.
Trump, who
has previously called global warming a hoax, tweeted that he would make a
decision next week on whether to back the 2015 Paris Agreement on curbing
carbon emissions following lengthy discussions with G7 partners.
"The
entire discussion about climate was very difficult, if not to say very
dissatisfying," German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters.
"There are no indications whether the United States will stay in the Paris
Agreement or not."
However,
there was relief that Trump agreed to language in the final G7 communique that
pledged to fight protectionism and commits to a rules-based international trade
system.
During his
election campaign last year, Trump threatened unilateral tariffs on Mexican and
Chinese goods and said he would quit the North American Free Trade agreement
unless it is renegotiated to his liking. Earlier this week he called Germany
"very bad" on trade because of its surplus with the United States.
"In the
end we convinced them to include the fight against protectionism in the final
communique, so that was a step forward," said one European diplomat, who
declined to be named.
Meeting in a
luxury hotel overlooking the Mediterranean sea, hosts Italy had hoped that the
summit would focus on Europe's migration crisis and the problems of neighboring
Africa.
The internal
G7 divisions and a suicide bombing in Britain on Monday, that killed 22,
overshadowed the Italian agenda, but on Saturday five African leaders joined
the world power leaders to discuss their continent's potential.
Niger
President Mahamadou Issoufou urged the G7 to take urgent measures to end the
crisis in Libya -- the point of departure for hundreds of thousands of migrants
looking for a better life in Europe. He also criticized them for not honoring
aid promises to fight poverty in West Africa's poorest regions.
"Be it
Niger, a transit nation, or the countries of origin, it is only through
development that we will prevent illegal migration," Issoufou said.
RUSSIAN
STICKING POINT
The final
communique was just six pages long, against 32 pages last year, with diplomats
saying the leaders wanted a simpler document to help them reach a wider
audience.
After
lengthy deliberation, the document included a separate threat, that was
inserted into the 2016 G7 statement, to take additional action against Russia,
if warranted, for its intervention in Ukraine.
The European
Union and the United States imposed sanctions on Russia after Moscow annexed
Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and pledged to up the penalties if Russian
interference in Ukraine intensified. Trump's promise of warmer ties with Moscow
had called into question the U.S. commitment to sanctions.
Diplomats
said that on other key international issues, such as Syria and North Korea,
there was broad G7 agreement.
However,
Italy was disappointed not to receive more backing for its call to open up more
legal channels for immigration to try to slow the flow of people risking their
lives to reach Europe on flimsy boats from lawless Libya.
"There
was very strong opposition by the Americans and British who wanted to refocus
on security and water down the expansive language on freedom of movement,"
said a European diplomat, who declined to be named.
Security
questions dominated initial G7 discussion on Friday and the leaders called on
internet service providers and social media firms to "substantially
increase" their efforts to rein in extremist content.
The U.S.
president is due to return to Washington later on Saturday at the end of a
nine-day tour of the Middle East and Europe -- his first foreign trip since
taking office.
Unlike other
G7 leaders, he is not due to give a press conference before flying out.
U.S.
officials said he had enjoyed "robust" conversations with his allies
in Sicily and had also learnt a lot -- especially in the debate on climate
change, which he has previously dismissed as a hoax.
"He
came here to learn. He came here to get smart. His views are evolving which
exactly as they should be," Trump's economic adviser Gary Cohn said on
Friday.
REUTERS*
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