The Group of Seven nations are arranging to hold a virtual summit on Dec 13 to discuss Russia’s war in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East, Japanese government and diplomatic sources said.
The meeting, likely to be attended by Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, comes ahead of the January return to the White House of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has cast doubt on the effectiveness of multilateral frameworks like the G7.
Canada is set to take over the group’s rotating presidency next year from Italy. When Canada hosted the G7 summit in 2018, Trump, then U.S. president, withdrew his endorsement of a joint statement and lashed out at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the G7 has imposed a spate of sanctions to hit Moscow’s war chest while remaining united in support of Kyiv.
The leaders of the G7, comprising Britain, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the United States plus the European Union, held an in-person meeting in June in Fasano, southern Italy.