Trump says ‘I’m the boss’ at G7 summit as Ukraine tone turns warmer
European Union and Group of Seven (G7) leaders on Wednesday jointly pledged support for Ukraine and new sanctions on Russia, while U.S. President Trump said at the meeting, “I’m the boss.”
The remark came during the G7 summit held in Evian-les-Bains, France, from June 15 to 17, following a joint statement that could further strengthen Ukraine’s leverage in any potential peace talks with Russia.
Ukrainian President Zelenskiy and his allies came to convince Trump that Ukraine’s counteroffensive is working and that Russia is in no position to dictate terms in any peace agreement.
The joint statement and the leaders’ remarks suggested that Trump, after years of skepticism, had come around to Zelenskiy’s argument. French President Macron said this reflected a “real shift” in the U.S. stance on Ukraine and called the summit a success. By contrast, last year’s G7 summit in Canada failed to produce a common position on Ukraine.
Italian Prime Minister Meloni said the leaders and Trump “found common ground, which is not always a given.” Canadian Prime Minister Carney praised the U.S. and Trump for a “change in stance.”
Last year Trump left the G7 summit a day early because of the Middle East situation, but this time he attended the entire event and was due later that evening to attend a dinner at Versailles. At this summit, the leaders agreed on joint statements covering Ukraine, AI and critical minerals, much to their evident relief.
Still, any prospect of forcing Moscow into peace talks remains dependent on Trump’s commitments, which are often hard to pin down.
“I’m the boss,” Trump told the leaders and reporters as he took his seat at the Global Economic Security meeting.
Trump’s Iran deal sets the tone for talks
G7 leaders also welcomed the preliminary peace deal between the U.S. and Iran and said they were willing to help implement it, though Trump made no specific commitments about the role each side might play.
European allies worry that an inexperienced U.S. negotiating team may fail in the next stage to secure a durable nuclear deal or address Iran’s ballistic missile program, which could prolong the standoff.
Meanwhile, Trump stressed that the memorandum of understanding with Iran is not the final deal, and that the U.S. could resume bombing if Iran fails to live up to its promises.
“If I don’t like it, if they’re not honest, we’ll resume bombing immediately and drop bombs right on their heads,” he said.
Although European allies publicly backed the preliminary deal, diplomats warned that reaching a lasting agreement on Iran’s nuclear program, its ballistic missile program and support for proxy forces across the Middle East will be no easy task.
