47th G7 summit

Italy steps into the pivotal role of the G7 rotating presidency, taking over from Japan, in a time fraught with global tensions and intricate geopolitical challenges, as reported by world agencies and Italian media.

Ljubljana – A week of top-level meetings has finally affirmed the conviction that the war in Ukraine will be long, Dnevnik says on Friday as it comments on the EU, G7 and NATO summits.

China accused Group of Seven countries yesterday of irresponsibly sowing division after the forum condemned Beijing's trade practices in an end-of-summit statement.

G7 leaders had slammed China's "non-transparent and market-distorting" international trade tactics on
June 28, in a statement that also vowed to reduce "strategic dependencies" on the Asian giant.

Biden was supposed to speak today at the final session of the G7 leaders' meeting in the German castle of Elmau, in the Bavarian Alps, before he flew to Munich by helicopter, and from there it was planned to take a presidential plane to Madrid for the NATO Summit.

The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Layen, stated that she does not support the idea of a boycott of the G20 summit if Russian leader Vladimir Putin participates in it.

The United States said yesterday that the G7 group of nations will ban imports of Russian gold with the aim of tightening sanctions screws on Moscow and crippling its war effort in Ukraine.

"Together, the G7 will announce that we will ban the import of Russian gold, a major export that rakes in tens of billions of dollars for Russia," President Joe Biden said on Twitter.

Greece has declared 12 Russian diplomats persona non grata. The European Union will also sanction the import of Russian oil, the President of the European Commission told the European Parliament.

Ursula von der Leyen presented the restrictions announced on Tuesday, including a ban on buying Russian coal.

The meeting will discuss the conflict in Ukraine and potential options for helping that country, said the President of the World Bank, David Malpass.

Germany is headed for weeks, if not months, of protracted coalition haggling as Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives insisted on Sept. 27 on trying to form a government even after losing to the Social Democrats in a tight race.

President Joe Biden will host a virtual summit with world leaders on the coronavirus pandemic next Wednesday, a day after he addresses the United Nations General Assembly, the White House said on Sept. 17.