Media Review of the G7 Summit

The meeting of the G-7 leaders occupied the first pages of Western media, alarmed by the ripening split between the US and its allies

The German magazine Der Spiegel focused on the position of Merkel, who believes that it is not necessary to hide disagreements, they should be talked about openly. The Chancellor considers it quite normal for the lack of a joint statement by G7 due to a number of disagreements. German journalists drew attention to a joint photo of the leaders of the "Seven", on which they looked "rather puzzled and only smiled a bit at photographers." After the photo session, Merkel turned to Trump.

"After a short photo (...) Merkel took the US president aside and spoke actively with him, while the rest returned to the luxurious conference hotel. What they talked about remained unclear, "Der Spiegel reports in its article" It's better no steps at all than a step back".

In another material, the German magazine noted the attempts of French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to build bridges. Der Spiegel took out the title of Trump's words "Emmanuel was very useful."

The American business news agency Bloomberg writes in more conciliatory tones, urging not to exaggerate the split in the transatlantic camp:

Low expectations for the meeting which ends on Saturday could allow leaders to cast any consensus as an achievement, especially given that Trump and most of the other G-7 leaders headed into the negotiations. Trump spent the days leading up to the meeting of the tweeting complaints about the summit's "indignant" host, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and the French President Emmanuel Macron, arguing that both leaders refused to be on their trade positions ...

During the tete-a-tete negotiations with Emmanuel Macron, Trump publicly spoke of "progress" on the issues on which he had previously "grumbled", the agency continues. Instead of arguing with Trump, his partners focused on the basic parameters of the agreement, which are only to recognize the importance of the role of G7, concludes Bloomberg. The leaders of the "seven" also ignored the question of Russia's return to this format. Referring to an unnamed German official, Bloomberg notes that "if Trump refuses to sign a communiqué, this will not be the end of the G-7", but it will be a wake-up call. "

Unlike Bloomberg, The Washington Post already beats the alarm, fearing that Trump will lead the world order and American dominance to collapse.

The head of the European Council Donald Tusk, has expressed worries that US President Donald Trump is in fact threatening the rules-based international order established in the wake of the Cold War by his attempts to break or renegotiate a number of international agreements.

"If Trump is re-elected for a second term, we need to worry about the end of the liberal world order," the Washington Post quotes Cliff Kupchan as the leader of the Eurasia Group consulting company. The political scientist is worried that Trump's second term will be enough to "damage liberal institutions" such as the WTO and the UN. American protectionism and Trump's tariffs, according to Kupchan, are "a definition of the end of the world order."

Estimates of Western media show that Europe and the US are approaching the full-fledged split that was observed during the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and even earlier - during the deployment by US President Ronald Reagan of intermediate and short-range missiles in Europe.