G7 leaders on Friday found common cause on combating terrorism after the bloodshed in Manchester, but failed to bridge a gulf between US President Donald Trump and Washington’s partners on trade and climate change.
On the opening day of a two-day summit, the leaders endorsed a British call urging Internet service providers and social media companies to crack down on the dissemination of militant Muslim content online, after 22 people were killed in the concert bombing in northwest England on Monday.
However, US partners hit deadlock in their attempt to persuade Trump to keep the world’s biggest economy inside the framework of the 2015 Paris Agreement on curbing carbon emissions to reduce global warming.
Photo: EPA
Tensions over trade also flared. Unusually for such a set-piece event, leaders made no effort to hide their divisions in Sicily’s ancient hilltop resort of Taormina.
The choice of venue overlooking the Mediterranean reflected the Italian hosts’ desire for the summit to showcase cooperation against deadly flows of illegal refugees and migrants from nearby Africa.
However, discussions on that subject also hit stalemate because of differences with the US at what EU President Donald Tusk called “the most challenging G7 summit in years.”
Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni acknowledged there had been no breakthrough on climate change, describing the future of the Paris pact as “still hanging,” as Trump reviews the arguments for and against ditching the global deal.
White House chief economic adviser Gary Cohn said the president’s views were “evolving.”
“He came here to learn,” Cohn said. “His basis for decision ultimately will be what’s best for the United States.”
British Prime Minister Theresa May led the discussion on terrorism, and won backing for her demand that extremist content should be quickly taken offline by platforms such as Facebook and YouTube — although details of what this will mean in practice were left vague.
“Make no mistake; the fight is moving from the battlefield to the Internet,” May told her colleagues.
In a joint statement on terrorism, the G7 powers also vowed a collective effort to track down and prosecute foreign fighters dispersing from theaters of conflict such as Syria.
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