(TNND) — President Donald Trump is wrapping up his final day at the G7 summit in the French Alps on Wednesday after spending much of the gathering focused on a tentative agreement aimed at ending the conflict with Iran.
A news conference is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. before Trump departs for a visit and dinner at the Palace of Versailles in Paris. The president on social media called the G7 summit “a great success but, mostly what people wanted to talk about, is the fact that Iran will not have a Nuclear Weapon, and that the Strait of Hormuz will immediately be opened!”
“Great Numbers in all categories for the United States Economy with more people working today than have ever worked before,” he added. “Over 19.1 Trillion being invested in the U.S.A. with Factories and everything else happening but, importantly, recent Stock Market numbers are through the roof because of the settlement and, likewise, Oil Prices are tumbling down!”
Trump on Tuesday teased that he would hold a news conference “in a couple of days” and read the proposed 60-day Iran ceasefire agreement word-for-word, saying he was waiting for a “formal setting” to release the full text.
However, he stressed Wednesday that the agreement remains unfinished and warned that if negotiations break down, military action could resume.
“If I don’t like it, we’ll go back to shooting at them, dropping bombs,” Trump said.
Vice President JD Vance said Monday that he expects the text of the memorandum, which has already been signed digitally, to be released this week. Switzerland’s Foreign Ministry said a formal signing ceremony is planned for Friday at the Bürgenstock resort near Lucerne.
Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner will lead the U.S. delegation.
The conflict’s impact on global trade also featured prominently at the summit. Overnight, G7 leaders issued a joint statement calling for safe and toll-free shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital maritime corridor that has been disrupted during the conflict.
The waterway is one of the world’s most important energy shipping routes, and disruptions have contributed to higher fuel and fertilizer costs while rattling global markets.
“We reaffirm that the right of transit passage without restrictions or tolls is the bedrock of international trade,” leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States said in a joint statement.
Beyond the Middle East, leaders also focused on Russia’s war in Ukraine, which remains a top security priority for the G7 more than four years after Moscow’s full-scale invasion.
Officials said leaders discussed additional military assistance for Kyiv, including expanded air defense capabilities and new measures designed to strengthen Ukraine’s long-term defense industry.
The group is also considering tougher sanctions targeting Russia’s energy sector as Western allies seek to increase economic pressure on Moscow.
Ukraine has pushed allies to provide more interceptors and air defense technology while seeking licenses that would allow domestic production of advanced weapons systems.
“The G7 Summit in France delivered important results for Ukraine. Most importantly, we agreed on additional strengthening of Ukraine’s air defense,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X. “Our partners will ensure support for our defense and energy resilience.”
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Zelenskyy has used international gatherings such as the G7 to rally military, economic and diplomatic support while seeking to further isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin.
After discussions centered on two of the world’s most pressing security challenges, leaders turned Wednesday to a rapidly emerging strategic concern: artificial intelligence.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei joined world leaders for a working lunch focused on “ensuring a safe, rapid and effective deployment of artificial intelligence.”
The discussions come as Europe increasingly debates how to reduce dependence on American technology companies that dominate the global AI landscape.
The European Commission this month unveiled a technology sovereignty package aimed at boosting domestic AI development, while Pope Leo XIV recently called for stronger safeguards and regulation surrounding artificial intelligence.
Concerns about dependence on U.S. technology intensified last week after Anthropic restricted access to its most advanced AI models following a Trump administration order citing an unspecified national security concern.
The U.S. government barred access to the models for non-Americans worldwide, prompting the company to suspend service for affected users.
The episode underscored concerns among European policymakers that access to critical AI technologies could become subject to geopolitical decisions made outside their borders.
“It highlighted how Europe, Canada or other countries can be put in an extremely vulnerable position if they get cut off from advanced AI models,” said Zach Meyers, director of research at CERRE, a Brussels-based think tank.
“There is a general anxiety about the state of Europe, the fact that we’re relying on other countries for quite important strategic infrastructure and a desire to do something about it, whatever that is,” Meyers said.
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Editor’s note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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