Our live coverage of the G7 summit in France and President Trump’s news conference has ended. You can read more about the world leaders’ summit here.
Here’s a breakdown of the key lines from Trump’s news conference:
President Trump has departed France following the conclusion of the G7 summit.?
Air Force One was wheels up for Washington just past 1 p.m. ET (7 p.m. local). It’s a roughly eight hour flight to Joint Base Andrews.?
French President Emmanuel Macron shared some insight on his dealings with President Trump at the G7, saying his counterpart appreciates directness and respect.
?The French President went on to say that he and Trump had a “fantastic working lunch” which he described as “extremely productive.”
The French Government, the organizer of this year’s G7 summit, has issued a conclusion document on behalf of the leaders of the seven countries at the meeting.
The document notably leaves out discussions on the Amazon and on climate change, and instead focuses on trade, Iran, Ukraine and Libya.?
“The leaders of the G7 wish to emphasize their great unity and the positive spirit of their debates,” the document read.
Here’s what it says about five key issues:?
Trade
Iran
Ukraine
Libya
Hong Kong
President Trump, when asked about the climate crisis, said he wants clean air and clean water — but also wants the US to hold onto its “tremendous wealth.”
A reporter asked Trump, “What do you think the world?should be doing about climate?change and do you still harbor?that skepticism?”
Trump said the US has become “the No. 1 energy producer in the world.”
Trump said that while he wanted to continue energy production, he see himself as an environmentalist.
“I want the cleanest water on Earth. I want the cleanest air on Earth. And that’s what we’re doing. And I’m an environmentalist,” he said.
Some context: Earlier today, Trump skipped a session devoted to?climate change at the G7 summit.
In the lead-up to the G7, Trump’s aides said he wasn’t entirely interested in the climate portions of the summit, believing them a waste of time compared to discussion of the economy.
After past G7s, Trump complained that too much time was spent on issues he deemed unimportant, like clearing oceans of plastics.
President Trump said he thinks the UK’s Boris Johnson will be “a great prime minister.” The two met at the G7 summit over the weekend.
Trump said he told Johnson he’s “been waiting for him to be prime minister for about 6 years.”
“This is the right time for Boris,” he added.
A reporter asked President Trump about the reason Russia was kicked out of the G7, which used to be the G8, and he repeated a misleading statement blaming President Obama.
Trump, the reporter pointed out, continues to insist that “Russia outsmarted President Obama” when other countries say the reason Russia was ousted from the group was because it annexed Crimea in 2014.
Here’s how Trump responded:
He continued: “President Obama was pure and?simply outsmarted.?They took?Crimea?during his?term.?That was not a good thing.?It could have been stopped — could have been stopped with?the right, whatever.?It could have been stopped.?But President Obama was unable?to stop it, and it’s too bad.”
Some context: The 2014 decision to kick Russia out of the then-G8 was made by a majority of member countries.
Russia?was suspended?from the group after the majority of member countries allied against Russia’s annexation of Crimea, which Russia continues to hold.
Asked about political fallout from his suggestion that Russia be readmitted to the G7, Trump said, “don’t care.”
He added that “numerous people inside the G7 felt that way.”
Asked about having Russia’s Vladimir Putin attend the summit, Trump said he would “certainly invite him.”
President Trump defended the possibility of hosting the next G7 summit at his Trump National Doral Miami Golf Club, saying that he will not make any money from hosting.?
“It’s not about me, it’s about getting the right location,” he said.
Trump told reporters at a press conference Monday in Biarritz, that he “couldn’t care less” about making money and reiterated that he has only lost money as president. “The only thing I care about is this country,” Trump said.?
Trump said that the administration has looked at 12 different sites for the summit, but said his Doral-Miami club is the best choice in terms of location and infrastructure.
“My people wanted it,” Trump said on the club adding, “I’m not going to make any money.”
President Trump outlined the reasons he’s considering hosting next year’s G7 summit?at his Trump National Doral Miami Golf Resort in Florida.
He cited the location’s proximity to the airport and its “luxurious rooms with?magnificent views” as key elements.
“Doral happens to be within?Miami.?It’s a city.?It’s a wonderful place.?It’s a very, very successful?area of Florida.?It’s, very importantly, only five?minutes from the airport.?The airport is right next door,” Trump said.
He added that his team looked at 12 sites, but some were two to four hours away from an international airport.
Trump went on to describe the club’s guest rooms and amenities.
He continued: “Each country can have their own?villa?or their own bungalow.?And they have a lot of units in?them.?So I think it works out well.”
Following up on President Macron’s suggestion that the US and Iran meet in the coming weeks on the nuclear issue, Trump was asked if that timetable for a meeting sounded realistic and he responded, “It does.”
Trump said he thinks Iran wants to “get this?situation straightened out,” but couched that comment by adding,?“That’s based on gut.”
“I think there’s a really good chance that we would meet,” Trump added.
President Trump would not confirm if the US and France have reached an agreement on sanctions on French wines — but he would confirm that his wife loves the drink.
A reporter noted that Melania Trump was seen tasting French wine during the G7 summit.
“So can you perhaps give up on?your threat to put sanctions on?French wine?” the reporter asked. “Could you confirm that there has?been an agreement between you?and France on taxing digital?firms?”
Here’s how Trump responded:
Some context: Last month, Trump floated placing tariffs on French wines and other French products in retaliation for that nation’s new tax on large American technology companies.
Asked if he was ready to make a deal on trade with China, President Trump said, “Only if it’s a fair deal and a good deal for the United States. Otherwise, I will not make a deal.”
“I think they want to make a deal, and they should make a deal,” Trump said of China.
He added that if they don’t make a deal with the US it will be “very bad for China.”
President Trump said North Korea has “tremendous potential” — something he believes North Korean leader Kim Jong Un understands.
“Kim Jong Un, who I’ve gotten to?know extremely well — the first?lady has gotten to know Kim?Jong Un and I think she would?agree with me — he is a man with?a country that has tremendous?potential,” Trump said.
Trump added that North Korea’s location between South Korea and China gives it “tremendous economic potential.”
President Trump wouldn’t commit to meeting with Iran’s President after French leader Emmanuel Macron raised the idea.
Earlier, Macron said he was working to arrange a meeting between Trump and Hassan Rouhani in the next few weeks as a precursor to a new nuclear agreement.
Trump did not respond directly to Macron’s effort. But he said any new deal would need to encompass a longer period of time and include ballistic missile testing.
“We’re looking for no nuclear weapons, no ballistic missiles, and a longer period of time,” Trump said.?
“I really believe that Iran can be a great nation,” Trump said. “I’d like to see that happen.”
But he said if Iran continued bad behavior, it would be met with “violent force.”
President Trump said Iran is “not the same country that it was two and a half years ago” when he came into office.
He said the US would like to see Iran without nuclear weapons — but he’s not looking for a leadership shakeup within the nation.
Trump said he believes Iran can be a “great nation.”
“I would like to see that happen,” he added. “But they can’t have nuclear weapons.”
French President Macron said that world leaders discussed brokering a “new nuclear agreement” with Iran at the G7. Macron is calling for the leaders of the US and Iran to meet in the coming weeks to discuss the issue.
“I’m ready to have a meeting to make a deal,” Macron added. “I want this meeting to happen.”
President Trump said he believes China is sincere in wanting a new trade deal.
“Do you believe that?China is?sincere?about what it?said this morning?” a reporter asked the President at a news conference.
“Yes,” Trump responded.
Earlier today, Trump said he’d received word from?China?that its negotiators are ready to return to trade talks, even after his aides spent Sunday insisting Trump wants higher tariffs on Chinese products.
French President Emmanuel Macron said he hopes the US and China reach a trade deal quickly because “uncertainty” is bad for the global economy.
“Our deep wish is for an agreement to be found between the United States and China concerning trade because I think that would be something positive for everyone,” he said when asked if he was concerned about the trade war between the US and China.
He continued:
Some context: Earlier today, Trump said he’d received word from?China?that its negotiators are ready to return to trade talks, even after his aides spent Sunday insisting Trump wants higher tariffs on Chinese products.
French President Emmanuel Macron said both he Trump agree that Iran “must never have nuclear arms.”
Speaking next to President Trump, Macron added that Iran “must never be allowed to disturb the stability of the region.”
The French President went to say that a lot of pressure has been put on Iran. He welcomed both the visit by Iran Foreign Minister Javad Zarif as well as the words by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani as a positive step in what he still described as a “fragile” environment.??
French President Emmanuel Macron said there have been “a lot of tensions” and “a lot of conflicts” at this year’s G7 summit.
“What we were really keen on was to convey a positive and joint message following our discussions, discussions on several topics,” he said, according to a translator.
He added that the world leaders have not yet negotiated a lengthy text, but they have worked on a one-page document.
Macron is appearing at a news conference with President Trump, as the US will host next year’s G7 summit.
“We wanted to hold this joint conference together, because next year it is the United States of America that will host the G7 summit, and we are going to pass the baton on to President Trump. That is why we are together,” Macron said.
Trump said earlier today that he is “possibly” looking at hosting the next?G7 summit?at his Trump National Doral Miami Golf Resort.
President Trump and France’s Emmanuel Macron are speaking at a press conference right now. They are expected to take questions. Watch live about and follow here for key moments.
The French foreign minister says it was not their hope to have Trump meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif by bringing Zarif to the G7.?
Asked by CNN on Monday whether that was the motivation behind bringing Zarif to the summit, the French foreign minister,?Jean-Yves Le Drian,?said no, “there was no hope” of that kind of meeting.?
Some background: Zarif’s surprise appearance caught some US officials off-guard. French President Emmanuel Macron informed his fellow leaders that Zarif would make the visit only the night before he arrived.
Trump maintained a neutral view of the development on Monday, saying he was not surprised and had even given Macron his approval to push forward with planning the Zarif visit.
Still, Trump said he felt it was too early for a meeting with Zarif himself. And he continued to trash the Iran nuclear deal, an accord that European leaders are working to salvage after Trump withdrew.
White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham was asked asked this morning why President Trump skipped a G7 meeting on biodiversity, climate and oceans.
She said the President was tied up in meetings with Germany and India.
However, both German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi were seen attending the climate session that Trump skipped.
Modi even tweeted this:
President Trump and other world leaders have gathered in France for the annual G7 summit.
The gathering is winding down: President Trump is scheduled to have a joint news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron at 9:30 a.m. ET before his expected departure around 10:30 a.m. ET.
Here’s what you need to know about the summit:
A White House official says President Trump didn’t attend the climate summit because he “had meetings and bilats with Germany and India. Both went long.”
White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, asked why he skipped it, said, told the pool: “The President had scheduled meetings and bilaterals with Germany and India, so a senior member of the Administration attended in his stead.”
Both German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi were seen attending the climate session that Trump skipped.
French President Emmanuel?Macron is giving the other G7 leaders a special gift to remember their gathering in Biarritz: a watch made from recycled fishing nets.
The limited edition timepiece was made by French company Awake. Apart from being made using recycled plastic, it is powered by solar energy to avoid using batteries.
According to Awake, Macron?will gift these?watches to all world leaders attending the G7 summit. The watch is meant to symbolize the need for international cooperation on sustainability and ocean conservation.
The leaders of the world’s biggest economies discussed biodiversity, climate and oceans at one of the sessions on Monday.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a guest at the session. He said he “highlighted India’s large scale efforts” on climate change and the environment.
President Donald Trump was notably missing from the meeting.
Asked about it during one of his news conferences, Trump appeared to suggest the climate talks were yet to happen.
French President Emmanuel Macron later said Trump only missed the?climate?session because it clashed with other bilateral meetings he had on Monday.
French President Emmanuel Macron has announced a $20 million emergency fund to help Amazon countries affected by the rainforest fires.
Speaking after a G7 climate session Monday, Macron?said the fires are “two times the surface area of France.”
He said the wildfires are damaging the “most important lungs of the planet” and France will provide military support.
The president admitted his country’s interest in the Amazon is partly because it has territory in the Amazon.
Macron angered Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro last week by calling?the wildfires blazing in the Amazon rainforest?an “international crisis” that should be on the agenda at the G7 summit in Biarritz, France.
Bolsonaro said the idea of G7 discussing the issue was “reminiscent of colonial mindset inappropriate in the 21st century.”
Apart from the short term emergency funding, Macron also announced a longer term common initiative for the Amazon that will be discussed at the United Nations General Assembly.??
President Donald Trump told reporters earlier: “China?called, last night, our top trade people, and said, ‘Let’s get back to the table.’” Now Trump and his aides are declining to clarify the substance of those calls.
Asked in a meeting with India’s prime minister about the calls that he described, Trump cited Chinese vice premier Liu He’s comments earlier calling for “calm.”?
Pressed on the calls, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said there has been ‘communication’ but wouldn’t say between whom. Trump added the communication was “at the highest level” and quickly pivoted to touting the US economy.?
Asked again directly, “Was there not actually a call last night?” Mnuchin said only: “There were discussions that went back and forth and let’s just leave it at that.”
The Chinese foreign ministry didn’t mention the calls in a briefing Monday.
President Trump said again Monday he’s available to mediate the dispute between India and Pakistan over the region of Kashmir, even as India’s leader sitting alongside him said his help wasn’t needed.
“The prime minister really feels that he has it under control,” Trump said as India’s Narendra Modi looked on. “I’m sure they will be able to do something very good.”
Modi, asked if he was interested in Trump’s help, said the issue was between India and Pakistan.
“These issues are bilateral,” he said, adding: “We can find solutions to discussions.”
Despite those comments, Trump insisted he was still available for mediation.?
“I’m here,” he said. “I have a very good relationship with both gentlemen.”
President Trump has denied that he raised the prospect of disrupting hurricanes using nuclear weapons.
A report in Axios said Trump suggested the idea in hurricane briefings over the first two years of his presidency.
In a tweet on Monday, Trump dismissed the report as “fake news.”
France’s new digital tax is a hot topic at the G7 summit.
Starting January 2020, France will start charging a 3% tax on revenue earned by large internet companies in the country. American companies such as Amazon, Facebook and Google will be impacted.
The Trump administration has staunchly opposed the move, and the president himself has even threatened to place tariffs on French wines and other French products in retaliation for the new levy.
On Monday, Trump said the US and France were getting closer to striking a deal on the issue.
The press department of the French finance ministry confirmed Monday that US and French negotiators have reached a compromise agreement, which will be submitted to Trump and French?President Emmanuel Macron later on Monday.
The world’s richest countries are currently working on an international digital tax proposal through the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). However, some countries, including France and the UK, have argued the OECD plan is taking too long to draw up and announced they would impose their own interim tax until the global scheme is put in place.
The French finance ministry confirmed reports that the compromise would consist of France repaying to companies the difference between the French tax and the planned mechanism being drawn up by the OECD.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Monday said President Donald Trump’s desire to reinstate Russia in the G7 would depend on consensus within the group.?
“Of course, returning to the Seven only at the invitation of one of the countries is impossible, because all decisions there are made by consensus,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters.
Peskov earlier reiterated Russian President Vladimir Putin’s position that Russia was not opposed to rejoining the group, but considered formats that include countries such as China and India to be more constructive.
President Trump confirmed reports that he is “possibly” looking at hosting the next G7 summit at his Trump National Doral Golf Resort in Miami.?
Trump discussed the pros of hosting the G7 at his Miami-Dade resort, including its close proximity to the airport and infrastructure that he said could easily accommodate the large presence of global leaders, delegations and press.?
Trump said his club could “handle whatever happens” and repeated several times that it is only a five-minute drive to the airport. He added that it was still being decided.?
The Washington Post first reported in June that Trump was looking at hosting the next G7 at his Doral club.
President Donald Trump reiterated on Monday he would like to bring Russia back into the G7, but admitted that other leaders of the world’s biggest economies disagreed with him.
Trump said he told his counterparts it would be advantageous to readmit Russia to the group. “There are people that agree with me 100%, but there are some that don’t,” Trump said. “We did have a discussion about Russia,” he added.
Sitting next to him, the German Chancellor Angela Merkel made it clear her priority is to resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Ukraine has been locked in a proxy war with Russia for five years, and the conflict has claimed around 13,000 lives in the country’s east. Western powers imposed sanctions on Russia after it annexed Crimea in 2014.
“I want the talks now between the Ukrainian President and the Russian President… I think we have to try and bring this forward in the next few months,” Merkel said when asked about Russia.
“It’s a big problem and we have enough problems in the world as it is, I think we ought to make progress on this one,” she added.
President Donald Trump said the next G7 summit, which is scheduled to take place in the United States in 2020, is likely going to take place in Miami.
He said it will be “right next” to the Miami airport, avoiding the need to “drive for hours and hours and hours.”
“We are thinking about it, they like the location, and it’s Miami, it’s a great area,” Trump said.
President Donald Trump is meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday morning.
Speaking to journalists at the summit, the two said they discussed the United States’ trade war with China.
Merkel said she was hoping that the US and China can strike a deal that would ease the tensions between the world’s two biggest economies.
“Of course, we are all linked together, we have all interest to find a solution and would be very glad if an agreement could be found between China and the US.”
“She’s a brilliant woman, she understands,” Trump said.
President Donald Trump said he has received positive signals from?China?on a trade deal.
Speaking in France on Monday morning, Trump said “China?called last night” to relay a desire to return to negotiations. He described the calls as “productive.”
“Let’s get back to the table,” Trump said, describing the message from Beijing.
“They want to make a deal. They want calm. That’s a great thing, frankly,” Trump said alongside Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
“This is a very positive development for the world,” Trump said, adding later: “I think we’re going to make a deal.”
President Donald Trump didn’t make it to the start of a G7 session on climate on Monday, according to reporters in the room.
As the meeting got underway, the seat reserved for Trump was empty. Other G7 leaders – including Boris Johnson, Shinzo Abe, Emmanuel Macron, Justin Trudeau, Angela Merkel – were there.?
Macron began the session jokingly chiding Johnson to come to “order.” He then presented the other leaders with wrist watches made from recycled plastics.
In the lead-up to the G7, Trump’s aides said he wasn’t interested in the climate portions of the summit, believing them a waste of time compared to discussion of the economy.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Trump joined the session late, since cameras were dismissed from the room after a few minutes.
A meeting between UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the European Council President Donald Tusk on the summit’s sidelines did not bring any major surprise on Brexit.
According to a statement from the Downing Street, Johnson repeated, once again, that “the UK will be leaving the EU on 31 October whatever the circumstances.”
He also said the withdrawal deal agreed by his predecessor Theresa May was “anti-democratic.”
Ahead of the meeting, Tusk said the EU was “willing to listen to ideas that are operational, realistic, and acceptable to all Member States including Ireland, if and when the UK government is ready to put them on the table.”
Holger Schmieding, the chief economist at Berenberg Bank, said his main takeaway from the summit so far is the lack of “big negative headlines.”
“Unlike last time in Canada when the?G7?meeting ended with a bust-up, the Biarritz summit has not yet made big negative headlines,” Schmieding said in a note on Monday morning.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been working the floor at his first-ever G7 summit, hoping to set the stage for future trade deals with the world’s biggest economies.
The United Kingdom is set to leave the European Union at the end of October. Unless a major breakthrough is reached in the next few weeks, the country could end up crashing out of the world’s biggest trading bloc without a deal. A messy Brexit would hurt the British (and, to a lesser extent, the European) economy.
Johnson is hoping that the void left by the EU could be filled by other countries. He met the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison early on Monday.
According to a statement from Downing Street, the two leaders discussed “enhanced and deep trading relationship.”
Johnson has also met US President Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra?Modi.
The final day of the summit is shaping up to be busy for all those involved.
President Trump started the day with the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah?el-Sisi.
Trump is also expected to meet the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, India’s Prime Minister Narendra?Modi and appear at a joint press conference with the host, French President Emmanuel Macron.
The leaders of the world’s biggest economies are also set to take part in sessions covering climate, biodiversity and digital transformation, before attending the closing talks in the afternoon.
French President Emmanuel Macron staged a major surprise at the G7 meeting, unexpectedly inviting the?Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to the gathering.
Zarif has met with his French counterpart at the sidelines of the summit, but didn’t sit down with any US officials.
Macron has been trying hard to salvage the Iran nuclear deal after President Trump withdrew the US from the agreement last year and reimposed sanctions on the Middle East nation.
The deal with Iran was negotiated by Trump’s predecessor in the White House, Barack Obama, and with the UK, Germany, France, China and Russia in 2015.
It imposed strict limits on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanction relief. After Trump reimposed the sanctions, Tehran announced last month that it was no longer complying with the deal. It said it started increasing its uranium purity threshold beyond the limits set by the agreement.
Tehran has also increased pressure on the remaining signatories of the deal by attacking and seizing tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route.
US officials told CNN they weren’t given significant advance warning that Zarif would be in Biarritz for talks.
Read a full analysis here.
G7?leaders have agreed to help Amazon countries “as quickly as possible,” the French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday.
The Amazon rainforest, the world’s largest, has been burning at the highest rate since 2013.
“While respecting national sovereignty, our objective must be reforestation,” Macron said.
“This morning Colombia called out to the international community, and we must be present, and we will finalize this. Our teams are in touch with all the countries in the Amazon, for us to finalize concrete engagements both technical and financial,” the French president added.??
During the summit on Sunday, President Donald Trump seemed to indicate he regretted his trade duel?with China in comments that rocketed around the world amid concern about its economic impact.
“I have second thoughts about everything,” he said, leaving critics to hope the president was trying to make himself political room to deescalate the showdown.
But Trump, who hates to look like he’s being backed into a corner or is climbing down, then sent out his aides to say that on the contrary, his only regret was not being tougher on China.
Read a full analysis here.