G7: surprise arrival of the Iraqi Foreign Minister, Zarif
2019-08-25T18:23:12.889Z
The question of duties, the negotiations on Brexit, the Amazon in flames and then the surprise arrival of the Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Djavad Zarif. The themes of the second day of work of the G7 scheduled in Biarritz, France, have made the summit rather delicate. With a Donald Trump - in spite of the forecast of the eve - much more "diplomatic" than last year. The various tweets published by the president of the United States are a collection of superlatives, compliments, and photos in which he appears smiling. And the hypotheses of disagreements and tensions with the other leaders were by Trump himself denied and branded as "fake news". The fear that the very question of duties could end up weighing down the climate on that corner of the Pyrenees overlooking the Atlantic seems to be averted at the moment. The danger of an escalation of the trade war with China, which could spread to the Old Continent, was stigmatized by the European heads of government. First and foremost, the President of the Board, Giuseppe Conte, who claims that any duties imposed by the United States on the manufacturing sector, and specifically on German cars, would end up determining "a strong impact also on the Italian system". Another topic on the agenda is the environmental crisis in Brazil, with the fires that are devastating the Amazon. In the early afternoon, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the agreement to "help the countries affected" as soon as possible by the emergency. In addition to Brazil, where 60% of the forest extends, the area falls into 8 other South American countries. Meanwhile, negotiations on Brexit are looming over Biarritz. Boris Johnson on Sky News expressed optimism about leaving the EU, stating that the chances of an agreement "are improving". At the same time, the British prime minister stressed that "the United Kingdom will be out of the EU starting October 31, and this will happen - he wanted to specify - under any circumstances". But the real twist occurred with the surprise arrival of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Djavad Zarif. The Elysée, however, hastened to explain that the minister of Tehran had not been invited to the meeting of the seven great men, but only to take part in a summit in the Franco-Iranian margin. A presence that could have upset Trump, but it seems that the diplomatic work woven yesterday allowed to "neutralize" particular tensions. The US president, according to various sources, would have known of the Iranian minister's presence directly from Macron during lunch. Finally, from the front of Italy's commitments, Conte, through a tweet, announced that "Italy will increase its contribution to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria by 2020/22. Reduce inequalities, strengthen health systems of developing countries and ending epidemics - he wanted to underline - are priorities that we must pursue ".
Plane with Zarif arrives in France for G7 (Ansa)
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25 August 2019The question of duties, the Brexit negotiations, the Amazon in flames and then the surprise arrival of the Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Djavad Zarif. The themes of the second day of work of the G7 scheduled in Biarritz, France, have made the summit rather delicate. With a Donald Trump - in spite of the forecast of the eve - much more "diplomatic" than last year. The various tweets published by the president of the United States are a collection of superlatives, compliments, and photos in which he appears smiling. And the hypotheses of disagreements and tensions with the other leaders were by Trump himself denied and branded as "fake news". The fear that the very question of duties could end up weighing down the climate on that corner of the Pyrenees overlooking the Atlantic seems to be averted at the moment. The danger of an escalation of the trade war with China, which could spread to the Old Continent, was stigmatized by the European heads of government. First and foremost, the President of the Board, Giuseppe Conte, who claims that any duties imposed by the United States on the manufacturing sector, and specifically on German cars, would end up determining "a strong impact also on the Italian system". Another topic on the agenda is the environmental crisis in Brazil, with the fires that are devastating the Amazon. In the early afternoon, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the agreement to "help the countries affected" as soon as possible by the emergency. In addition to Brazil, where 60% of the forest extends, the area falls into 8 other South American countries. Meanwhile, negotiations on Brexit are looming over Biarritz. Boris Johnson on Sky News expressed optimism about leaving the EU, stating that the chances of an agreement "are improving". At the same time, the British prime minister stressed that "the United Kingdom will be out of the EU starting October 31, and this will happen - he wanted to specify - under any circumstances". But the real twist occurred with the surprise arrival of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Djavad Zarif. The Elysée, however, hastened to explain that the minister of Tehran had not been invited to the meeting of the seven great men, but only to take part in a summit in the Franco-Iranian margin. A presence that could have upset Trump, but it seems that the diplomatic work woven yesterday allowed to "neutralize" particular tensions. The US president, according to various sources, would have known of the Iranian minister's presence directly from Macron during lunch. Finally, from the front of Italy's commitments, Conte through a tweet announced that "Italy will increase its contribution to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria by 2020/22. Reduce inequalities, strengthen health systems of developing countries and ending epidemics - he wanted to underline - are priorities that we must pursue ".
