G7: diplomatic detentes and mixed messages

G7: diplomatic detentes and mixed messages
By Darren McCaffrey
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Our political editor Darren McCaffrey looks at the outcome of the G7.

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In Europe’s surfing capital, a nervous host had feared his G7 could produce the same diplomatic waves as last year's chaotic summit.

Instead for President Macron it seems to have inspired a new sense of diplomacy, an optimistic US president and certainly rekindled that "bromance" with Donald Trump.

Significantly the French President set out an ambition to hold Iranian/US talks in the coming weeks after months of rising tensions.

"What I said to President Rouhani on the phone, is that if he were to accept a meeting with President Trump, I'm convinced that an agreement can be reached. Now we need to sit down around a table and reach that goal," commented Emmanuel Macron to reporters.

"I think that Iran is a country of tremendous potential. We are not looking for leadership change..... We are looking for no nuclear weapons no ballistic missiles and a longer period of time. We can have it done in a very short period of time," Donald Trump added.

President Trump’s new found positiveness also extended to his trade war with China, claiming that the worlds second largest economy wants a deal and deal could be done.

"I think they want to make a deal very badly," Trump said continuing, "the Vice-Chairman of China came out, that he want's to see a deal made under calm conditions using the word calm I agree with him on that and China has taken a hard hit over the last months they lost three million jobs and it could soon be much more than that."

Under the Trump Presidency - America has found itself on the other side of the table from the other G7 countries on the key issues Iran, Trade and Climate Change - but this summit appears to have changed the mood, it now appears that President Trump is willing to give diplomacy, not often a word heard in the White House recently.

That’s not to say unity was found on every issue - notably he we not in the room when the leaders discussed climate change and pledged $20 million to fight the fires in Brazil.

On the surface this summit seems to have restored a much absent unity among the worlds largest democracies, President Macron will be pleased.

But given how much Donald Trump is willing to say one thing and do another - it’s far from clear if this weekend in sunny, southern France will be judged a success.

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