Group of Seven leaders on Friday
signed a statement against terrorism at the G7 summit in
Taormina, Sicily but the issue of climate change was suspended
while US President Donald Trump took time out for further
reflection.
Italian sources also said a "good compromise" had been
reached on migrant issues.
Italian Premier Paolo Gentiloni said during the signing of
the anti-terror declaration that it was "a strong message of
friendship, closeness and solidarity with Great Britain".
Prime Minister Theresa May thanked the seven leaders for
their support over the "terrible attack in Manchester" and said
"I think it is important to show this determination by all
countries to fight terror and safeguard our citizens".
The leaders said in their statement that "we G7 leaders
express our most keenly felt closeness and our deeply felt
condolences for the brutal attack and the victims in Manchester
which shows how we must boost our efforts and turn our
commitments into action".
They said "we condemn terrorism and all its manifestations in
the strongest possible way: the fight against terror remains one
of the G7's top priorities.
"We are united in making our citizens safe and preserving
their values and lifestyles".
The declaration against terrorism includes "the strengthening
of cooperation among the seven major economies of the western
world on various issues, from Internet technology collaboration
to the leaders' commitment to get from major Internet service
providers a commitment towards what is circulating on the Web
which often amplifies the acts of terrorism," Premier Gentiloni
said.
The leaders said that "we reaffirm every effort to cut
resources and channels of funding for terrorism". They said
"funds are the life blood of extremists and terrorists" and
stressed that they must also up the fight against "funding for
extremism that radicalises youth all over the world and
threatens our national interests".
The fight against terrorism involves the Internet in a major
way, May said.
Describing the stance taken by the G7 as "of fundamental
importance", she stressed the importance of moving from fighting
on the ground to working on the Web to defeat terrorism.
Gentiloni said that the "question of the Paris climate
agreements remains suspended, with President Trump having an
internal reflection of which the other countries have
taken note".
Trump has gone on record in the past as saying that global
warming was a "hoax".
Trump wants to take the "right decision" on climate change,
White House sources said on the sidelines of the summit.
British Prime Minister May said talks on climate issues had
been intense, with Britain working to uphold the Paris
agreements, but indicated that there was still no agreement with
the United States on the issue.
May said there had been an "excellent discussion" and that
the United States "is studying its position," in the awareness
of "how important (the Paris agreement) is".
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that "we clearly said
that we want the USA to respect the commitment made with the
Paris climate accords" but "the USA clarified that it has not
yet taken a decision and that such a decision will not be taken
here," Bloomberg News reported.
Merkel contrasted the disagreement on climate and trade with
agreement on the terror fight.
But Gentiloni also stressed that "there is an atmosphere of
direct and sincere discussion which translates into points of
agreement on the major issues: from Syria to Libya and on to the
issues of
international trade, on which we are still working".
He stressed that "today's direct discussion leads to common
points on which we can work".
Italian diplomatic sources said that a "good compromise has
been reached" on migrants for the G7 summit's final statement.
"The global approach to the problem, including a long-term
one with the involvement of the countries of origin and shared
responsibility, is recognised," the sources said.
They said that the discussion of the issue by G7 leaders
"will be tomorrow" and that work was continuing on two special
paragraphs of the final document, while stressing that "there
are no problems" with the Americans on this.
Going into the summit, European Commission President
Jean-Claude Juncker downplayed media reports that Trump
described German people as "bad" while discussing Germany's
trade surplus in talks in Brussels on Thursday.
"It's just a problem of translation," Juncker said.
"Trump did not mean to say that the Germans are bad, but that
there are problems with Germany and the Germans".
Trump and
Trump and Merkel had "lively and frank" talks on the
sidelines of the summit, Merkel said.
The two leaders spoke of trade, climate change and Ukraine,
said National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster.
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