Ahead of the G7 Summit: Hope for Peace in Ukraine?

The G7 summit is a central spectacle on the global stage. This year it takes place from Monday to Wednesday (June 15-17) in Evian, France, on the shores of Lake Geneva. The French currently hold the presidency of this prestigious group of “the world’s seven leading industrialized nations.” It also means that Europeans will once again face Donald Trump, the highly unpredictable American president. The G7 countries are the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Canada and Italy.

These are powerful industrial countries, which is why the G7 summit always involves maximum security measures – for fear of mass protests. Some have already been held in Evijan. The agenda will focus on issues such as global migration flows, climate protection or the wealth gap between the rich and the poor – and sometimes on militant protests over these issues. This is reminiscent of the events at the same place back in 2003, when during the summit – then it was a G8 meeting, because Russia also participated – a large number of shoplifting incidents were recorded in Evijan. The damage caused then amounted to tens of millions of euros.

The G7 format is a circle of liberal democracies

Ahead of this year's summit, the question has been raised again whether the format – an attempt by the world's most powerful leaders to discuss economic issues peacefully and without obligation – truly reflects the current balance of power. The new superpower, China, is not included, for example.

Diana Panke, a professor of political science at the Free University of Berlin, tells DW that she still thinks the format is appropriate: "The G7 format was established as an informal meeting of the then key industrial countries that shared a liberal-democratic orientation - and China does not fall into that category." Russia was admitted after the end of the Cold War, because it had, at least initially, committed itself to those values. However, Moscow has not been invited to the group's meetings since 2014, and the G8 has become the G7 again.

Panke points out that the value of the G7 also lies in the thorough preparations for the meeting – by finance and economy ministers on trade issues or by development ministers. The G7 finance ministers, for example, have been intensively involved in the war in Ukraine: “A key aspect was the mutual affirmation of their position on rejecting Russia’s brutal aggression against Ukraine,” recalls the German professor.

Is there any hope for peace talks on Ukraine?

The fate of Ukraine will also be a major topic in Evian. German government sources indicate that the military situation in the conflict with Russia has changed in recent months. After some successes, Ukraine can hope that the door to peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin could soon open. Europeans certainly want to be part of that process. French officials announced that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would attend the G7 meeting on Tuesday morning, June 16, although it remained unclear whether he would participate via video link or in person.

The summit's host, French President Emmanuel Macron, commented last week: "This is very important for us, because we need to regain consensus within the G7 on support for Ukraine." In other words, the conflict in Ukraine must once again attract Donald Trump's attention. Meanwhile, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told the Bundestag last week: "A sustainable peace can only be achieved through negotiations involving Ukraine, Russia, the US and Europe - there is no other way."

Summit postponed due to Trump's birthday

Another key topic in Evian will be the war that the US and Israel are waging against Iran. Diana Panke believes that most of the G7 countries will try to convince Trump to end the war as soon as possible. She will justify this by pointing to the severe consequences for the already weakened global economy: "The primary goal is to reach a consensus on the importance of reopening the Strait of Hormuz - ensuring its security and free passage - so that supply chains are not further disrupted."

Given the global situation, French organizers can already count it a success that Trump has firmly confirmed his presence. The Lake Geneva meeting was even postponed so that Trump could celebrate his 80th birthday in the United States on Sunday.

The American side has indicated that it also wants to discuss the economic potential of artificial intelligence. That's why the French have invited, among others, Sam Altman, the head of the software company OpenAI, to come from San Francisco and join them on Lake Geneva.

As was the case at last year's G7 summit in Canada, there are no plans for all seven leaders to sign a joint final declaration. Instead, the aim is to reach agreement on specific topics. Everyone hopes that this time there will be no friction with Donald Trump. The US president left the G7 meeting in Canada early in 2025.