August 26, 2019

Anna Murray 

The Group of Seven (G7), including France, Canada, Germany, Japan, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States, held the group’s 45th summit from August 24 to 26 in the seaside town of Biarritz, France. Donald Tusk, President of European Union Council, was also in the name list.
On the second day Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif showed up under the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron, which surprised most of the key participants there and became the biggest headline. After holding “constructive” talks with Macron and his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian, Zarif also had a brief report to German and British officials. He left France on the same day.  

Both Senator Lindsey Graham, an influential hawk in Trump’s shadow cabinet and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley regarded President Macron as disrespectful to President Trump due to the tense Iran-US relation since last year. Instead President Trump told the reporters that he himself agreed to President Macron’s inviting the foreign minister of Iran and would make no preconditions to accept new negotiations with the Iranian government.

Daniel DePetris, a fellow at Defense Priorities, thought that Macron’s inviting Zarif to Biarritz in fact did Trump a favor. Although Trump and Zarif didn’t meet each other this time, it increases the possibility of their discussion at the General Assembly in September.

Photo:Webshot.