What’s happening today?
The agenda for today’s summit features Italy’s president of the council of ministers Giorgia Meloni greeting delegation leaders from 10.30am local time (9.30am BST / 4.30am EDT). There will then be the traditional opening family photo of the delegation leaders.
The discussion sessions set for today are about:
-
Africa, climate change and development
-
Middle East (with working lunch)
-
Ukraine (G7 + Ukraine format)
-
Ukraine (G7 format)
There will also be an evening flag ceremony and photo opportunity.
Tomorrow’s sessions include discussion on migration, AI, energy, and the Indo-Pacific and economic security.
Key events
Georgia Meloni’s social media account has posted to reiterate that the location of the G7 summit, Puglia, was a deliberate choice. She said:
We did it because Puglia is a region of southern Italy and the message we want to give is of a G7 who under the Italian presidency wants strengthen its dialogue with the nations of the global south.
We did it because this land is historically a bridge between West and East, it is a land of dialogue at the centre of the Mediterranean, of that middle sea that connects the two great maritime spaces of the globe, the Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific.
L’Italia ha scelto di ospitare il summit dei leader in Puglia, non è stata una scelta casuale: lo abbiamo fatto perché la Puglia è una regione del Sud Italia e il messaggio che vogliamo dare è di un #G7 che sotto presidenza italiana vuole rafforzare il suo dialogo con le Nazioni… pic.twitter.com/YaAD6sV1iP
— Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) June 13, 2024
Italy accused of scrapping safe abortion guarantee from G7 declaration
Angela Giuffrida in Rome and Ashifa Kassamin Madrid report for the Guardian
Giorgia Meloni’s government has been accused of scrapping a reference guaranteeing access to “safe and legal” abortions in the text of the G7 summit’s final declaration.
Citing sources from G7 member delegations, the Italian media reported on Thursday that a sidebar clause on abortion rights had been left out of a last draft of the final declaration circulated on Wednesday.
The clause, pushed especially by France and Canada, had been intended to reinforce an agreement by the G7 members in Japan last year that they would guarantee “effective and safe access to abortion”.
It also committed to sexual and reproductive health rights for all, “including by addressing access to safe and legal abortion and post-abortion care”.
Sources in Meloni’s office denied the reference had been removed, telling Ansa news agency the declaration was still being negotiated and that “everything that will be included in the final document will be final points resulting from the negotiations”.
Antonio Tajani, the deputy prime minister, told Sky TG24: “The various delegations are in talks, and it is premature to make an analysis and useless to make predictions. We will see what the agreement will be.” He emphasised that while abortion would be discussed at the G7, Ukraine and the Middle East were priorities.
A source close to the negotiations told AFP that since 2021 there had “been a mention of ‘safe access’”, but “Meloni doesn’t want it”.
Read more of Angela Giuffrida and Ashifa Kassam’s report here: Italy accused of scrapping safe abortion guarantee from G7 declaration
Here are some more images issued from inside the room where the G7 summit meeting is taking place.
Patrick Wintour
Patrick Wintour is in Puglia for the Guardian
Joe Biden and Volodymyr Zelenskiy will sign a 10 year bilateral security agreement on behalf of their two countries at the G7 summit as arguments continued on the sidelines about how the West is to deliver on its plan to provide a Trump-proof $50bn loan to the Ukrainian government.
The bilateral security agreement is the 16th such bilateral security agreements that Ukraine has signed, and will help to speed the modernisation of the Ukrainian army. Ukraine had hoped for more than two years that the US would be the first to sign, but in the end the talks took more than a year, and the US is now the last of the G7 countries along with Japan to sign.
The agreement is not a treaty that requires the authorisation of Congress and could be undone by a future Trump administration. Biden has previously said the gauarantees for Ukraine are equivalent to those enjoyed by Israel, so covering financial and military assistance, as well as the possibility of the joint production of weapons
The two leaders will to stage a press conference to hail the agreement where differences over a timetable for Ukraine’s bid to join Nato, and the introduction of foreign military trainers inside Ukraine are likely to be on view. The bilateral agreements have also been viewed Ukraine as a stopgap before joining Nato.
Here are some pictures of Joe Biden’s arrival at the G7, and an image that has been issued from the room where the leaders are having discussion.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan has been speaking to the media at the sidelines of the G7 summit, Reuters reports, and he said that during discussions today Joe Biden will encourage other nations to support ceasefire negotiations trying to end fighting in Gaza.
Sullivan said Hamas had submitted an amended proposal with some minor changes that could be worked out, as well as others that were not in line with what Biden had laid out or that had been embraced by the UN security council.
“Our goal is to figure out how we bridge the remaining gaps and get to a deal,” he said, adding that discussions would continue with Qatar and Egypt, who, in turn, would work with Hamas to reach agreement as quickly as possible.
Here is the group shot from the G7 summit, from left-right: Charles Michel, Olaf Scholz, Justin Trudeau, Emmanuel Macron, Giorgia Meloni, Joe Biden, Fumio Kishida, Rishi Sunak and Ursula von der Leyen.
In the group photo lineup Meloni is flanked by Macron and Biden. The attendees have now gone indoors.
After a short delay, US president Joe Biden has arrived at the G7 summit. While she was waiting for him, at one point Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni posed for her own selfie in front of the media. The G7 leaders are now gathering for a group photo.
Japan’s prime minister Fumio Kishida, Canada’s Justin Trudeau and French president Emmanuel Macron have all arrived, and the news wires are beginning to carry pictures of the leaders being greeted by Giorgia Meloni.
As the leaders began to gather at the G7 summit, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has issued a lengthy message on social media ahead of today’s discussions. In it, he said:
For us, the main issues are developing fighter jet coalition, expediting pilot training, and accelerating aircraft delivery. Development of the Ukrainian air defense system based on the most powerful western systems, as well as an increase in long-range capability.
Bilateral security agreements will be signed during meetings with US President Joe Biden and Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida. The document with the United States will be unprecedented, as it should be for leaders who support Ukraine.
The entire Ukrainian people, including our warriors, see that the G7 will always support Ukraine. I am grateful to our partners for their belief in us and our victory.
Today is the G7 Summit in Italy, a meeting of our closest partners. Much of it will be dedicated to Ukraine, our defense, and economic resilience. And we look forward to important decisions today.
For us, the main issues are developing fighter jet coalition, expediting pilot…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 13, 2024
The first arrivals have been Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel representing the European Union, prime minister Rishi Sunak of the UK, and Olaf Scholz, chancellor of Germany.
Photograph: Luca Bruno/AP
Here is a picture of Giorgia Meloni’s arrival at the G7 summit.
While we wait for other G7 leaders to arrive, Reuters is carrying a quick snap that Ukraine and Japan are expected to sign a security agreement later today. At the same time Reuters reports Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Thursday he welcomed a sweeping new set of US sanctions imposed on Russia and praised the measures taken against its defence industrial base.
