Diplomatic tensions simmer at G7 summit

The French may be famous for their haute cuisine, but President François Hollande held two working dinners yesterday evening in Paris as he hosted US president Barack Obama and Russian president Vladamir Putin separately at the Élysée Palace.

The US and Russian presidents travelled to Paris last night in advance of today’s celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the Normandy landings. While they declined to dine together, the leaders will meet today on the French coast.

Promise of reconcilation

Speaking in Brussels late on Monday, Hollande was quick to highlight the promise of reconciliation offered by the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings which heralded the Allied liberation of

France

.

Praising the "heroism" of the Soviet forces during the second World War, he said France owed it to the Russian people to invite Putin to the celebrations. His comments were echoed by Obama yesterday in Brussels who said it was "entirely appropriate" for Russia to attend.

Despite all the British and US leaders' grand talk of the heroic sacrifices of the Allied forces in the second World War, the hand of history was not enough to persuade the G7 leaders to invite the Russian president to their summit in Brussels.

Sandwiched between Obama's visits to Poland and Normandy – events that celebrated two turning-points in the history of the West's battle with communism and fascism – the G7 summit in Brussels was a more sober reminder of the uncomfortable realities of current geopolitics.

Throughout the two-day summit, the leaders of the world’s most industrialised countries tried to negotiate the delicate balance between aggression and reconciliation in their response to Russia.

Despite tough language about their preparedness to adopt further sanctions, no serious discussion of imposing further sanctions took place. Instead, as German chancellor Angela Merkel made clear following the summit, the focus is now firmly on dialogue.

“We want solutions via dialogues and talks and we will only have to resort to other means if those talks are not successful,” she said.

While Putin faces his own D-Day when he meets western leaders today in Normandy, the last two days saw its fair share of diplomatic tensions between the G7 leaders.

Merkel confirmed she had not discussed the alleged tapping of her phone by the NSA with Obama, despite the opening of an investigation in Germany this week.

However, she did make clear to her North American counterparts that international trade deals would only work if the highest standards of consumer protection are applied. Chlorinated chicken was never going to wash with Europeans, she made clear, as the leaders discussed the ongoing EU-US trade deal negotiations.

Warship controversy

Similarly, Obama voiced his concerns about the controversial sale of French Mistral warships to Russia.

“I think it would have been preferable to press the pause button,” he said.

Nor would he intervene in the US decision to fine French bank BNP Paribas over alleged sanction violations.

There should be plenty to talk about on the Northern coast of France today.