The G7 leaders met for the first day of the two-day summit in Kananaskis in the province of Alberta, Canada, on Monday with emerging disagreements and U.S. President Donald Trump heading back to Washington a day earlier than planned. 

Trump will depart the summit on Monday night due to the intensifying conflict between Israel and Iran. "I have to be back, very important," Trump said. "You probably see what I see, and I have to be back as soon as I can."

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had been hoping to finalize a consensus among the leaders about the Middle East situation.

According to CNN, Trump had not been willing to sign a joint statement calling for de-escalation between Israel and Iran.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa held a press conference Sunday night saying that Israel has a right to defend itself and that Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon.

Trump's decision not to sign on to the statement set up an immediate divide with his counterparts, said the CNN report.

In the meantime, trade issues dominated discussions with Trump, and observers watched to see whether he would soften his positions.

After meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Trump was asked what is holding up a trade-security deal with Canada, and he replied that it's not a matter of it being held up, but rather "different concepts."

"I have a tariff concept and Mark has a different concept," Trump said. "We will see if we can get to the bottom of it today."

"I think Mark has a more complex idea, but also very good. We are going to look at both and we'll see what we will come out with," said Trump.

Trump did finalize a trade agreement with the UK, first announced in May, that is expected to slash tariffs on goods from both countries. Trump said the deal will "produce a lot of jobs, a lot of income."

The U.S. president also said it was a mistake to boot Russia from the G8 table, making it the current G7, and suggested that there wouldn't be conflict in Ukraine if Russia hadn't been ejected.

The G7 summit unveiled its slimmed-down agenda on Sunday, prioritizing discussions on the global economy and energy security.

Originally scheduled to begin over the weekend, the summit has been shortened to two days and officially started on Monday.

(With input from agencies)

(Cover: UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and U.S. President Donald Trump participate in a meeting with fellow G7 leaders at the G7 Leaders' Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, June 16, 2025. /VCG)