By David Ljunggren, John Irish and Andreas Rinke
KANANASKIS, Alberta (Reuters) -Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will on Tuesday urge the Group of Seven to provide more backing for the war against Russia even after U.S. President Donald Trump left the summit early due to developments in the Middle East.
Zelenskiy is due to meet Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in the morning before attending a G7 working breakfast on “A strong and sovereign Ukraine”, accompanied by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
The Ukrainian embassy in Canada said Zelenskiy’s travel plans had not changed.
Trump said on Monday he needed to be back in Washington as soon as possible due to the situation in the Middle East, where the escalating attacks between Iran and Israel have raised risks of a broader regional conflict.
“I’m very grateful for the President’s presence and I fully understand why he must return,” said Carney, who holds the rotating presidency of the G7.
A European Union diplomat said all other members wanted to stay to meet Zelenskiy and continue conversations.
The G7 has struggled to find unity over conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East as Trump overtly expressed support for Russian President Vladimir Putin and has imposed tariffs on many of the allies present.
Trump did agree to a group statement calling for de-escalation of the Israel-Iran conflict.
“We urge that the resolution of the Iranian crisis leads to a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza,” the statement said.
The statement said Iran is the principal source of regional instability and terror and that Israel has the right to defend itself.
Last week Zelenskiy said he planned to discuss continued support for Ukraine, sanctions against Russia, and future financing for Kyiv’s reconstruction efforts.
Trump said on Monday the then Group of Eight had been wrong to expel Russia after Putin ordered the occupation of Crimea in 2014.
Though the U.S. president stopped short of saying Russia should be reinstated in the group, his comments had already raised doubts about how much Zelenskiy could achieve in a scheduled Trump meeting.
Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said they had finalized a trade deal reached last month while Carney said he and the U.S. president had agreed to seal a new economic and trade relationship inside the next 30 days.
But the news was not as good for Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru, who had been hoping to seal an agreement of his own on Monday. He told reporters he had had a frank discussion with Trump but did not reach a final agreement.
G7 leaders prepared several draft documents seen by Reuters, including on migration, artificial intelligence, and critical minerals. None of them have been approved by the United States, according to sources briefed on the documents.
Without Trump, it is unclear if there will be any declarations, a European diplomat said.
Carney also invited non-G7 members Mexico, India, Australia, South Africa, South Korea and Brazil, as he tries to shore up alliances elsewhere and diversify Canada’s exports away from the United States.
Canada’s relationship with India has been tense since former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2023 accused India’s government of involvement in the June 18, 2023, murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader in Canada.
Modi’s government has denied involvement in Nijjar’s killing and has accused Canada of providing a safe haven for Sikh separatists. It is Modi’s first visit to Canada in a decade.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Caroline Stauffer & Shri Navaratnam)
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