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‘‘Robust’‘ and ‘‘challenging’‘ were the words being banded about as President Donald Trump attended his first G7 summit in Sicily on Friday.
Kicking off with a group photo in the picturesque clifftop town of Toarmina, the US leader was expected to face tough opposition from other world leaders, notably in the areas of trade and climate change.
Trump has threatened to initiate protectionist policies and pull the US out of the Paris climate change deal signed in 2015.
Leaders had hoped he might soften his position on those issues, but his confrontational remarks in Brussels a day earlier, particularly his criticism of NATO partners, did little to instill confidence.
White House economic adviser Gary Cohn other administration officials have said Trump will wait until after the summit to decide whether he will stay inside the Paris climate change deal.
Along with Trump, four of the group’s leaders, including the UK’s Theresa May will be attending their first G7.