G7 leaders meeting in the French spa town of Evian spent the second day of their summit trying to pull President Donald Trump’s attention back to Ukraine, days after his administration announced a framework to end the United States’ war with Iran. After a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday, Trump told reporters he would push for an end to the fighting, saying "I’m gonna do whatever I can" and that too many young men were dying on both sides.
Trump argued that "Russia should make a deal," and described the war as the conflict he had once thought "was going to be the easiest to settle" — a claim European officials have heard before without a breakthrough following. Zelenskyy emerged saying the United States was "ready to provide backstop" support across air defence, sanctions and reconstruction, and reported pledges including air-defence missiles, production licences and a package of winter aid.
The day’s diplomacy underscored the awkward balance facing the host, French President Emmanuel Macron, and the other leaders: a US administration eager to bank the Iran ceasefire as a foreign-policy win and move on, and European governments determined that Ukraine not slip down the agenda as the war grinds through its fourth year.
On Iran, Trump said the memorandum of understanding agreed with Tehran would be signed later in the week and that the Strait of Hormuz would be "completely open" once the formal agreement was in place. In a meeting with the emir of Qatar, he claimed the next phase of negotiations would be "easier" than the round that produced the framework, and said Iran would soon be "back in the rearview mirror."
He also moved to quash reports that the United States would pour money into Iran as part of the deal. "We are not investing any money in Iran," Trump said, calling a rumour to that effect "ridiculous." Vice-President JD Vance said separately that the full text of the understanding would be released "this week," disputing accounts that Iranian assets would be unfrozen or that Washington would pay reparations, and saying Gulf states would instead cover reconstruction costs.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen struck an optimistic note on Ukraine, telling reporters "the tide is turning," while diplomats described the leaders’ working session as constructive. Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a fresh package of Russia sanctions on the margins of the summit, and Britain’s Keir Starmer used the gathering to set a date for the next UK-EU summit.
The summit brings together the leaders of the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Italy and Japan, with the European Union represented by von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa. The emir of Qatar and senior figures from the United Arab Emirates joined a working lunch, reflecting the Gulf’s central role in both the Iran talks and energy markets.
Trade tensions hovered over the proceedings. Trump’s tariff threats — including a levy on French wine floated as the summit opened — have unsettled European capitals, and officials acknowledged that closing a joint communique acceptable to Washington remained a work in progress as the meeting headed toward its Wednesday conclusion.
For Zelenskyy, the priority was concrete: more air defence to blunt Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities, tighter enforcement of the oil-price cap, and assurances that US intelligence and weapons support would continue even as Washington’s focus drifted to the Middle East. Whether Trump’s renewed interest translates into pressure on Moscow, rather than on Kyiv to concede, is the question European leaders left Evian still trying to answer.