THE Group of Seven summit in France worked today to persuade US President Donald Trump to push the war in Ukraine back up the agenda.

The US war on Iran has in recent weeks overshadowed Ukraine. But following an agreement by the US to end the illegal and unprovoked war launched with its Israeli partner three-and-a-half months ago, Mr Trump has said he now wants to focus on Ukraine.

The US president said Iran would soon be “back in the rearview mirror.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky joined the leaders of the seven Western powers for a morning working session in the eastern town of Evian-les-Bains.

According to a French diplomatic source, G7 leaders, including Mr Trump, agreed to increase pressure on Russia, notably through sanctions targeting its oil and natural gas sectors.

The source said G7 leaders had held a “very fruitful” conversation on Ukraine.

Leaders also agreed on a common position to support Ukraine by providing additional air defence capabilities and other means of protection, the diplomat said. 

As the US under Mr Trump has cut back aid to Ukraine, France and its European allies are now the biggest providers of military and financial support to Kiev.

Hours before the summit began, Russia fired hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles at Ukraine’s biggest cities, killing 11 people and setting fire to a religious landmark.

The attacks on Ukraine’s biggest cities came after Mr Zelensky and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin spoke separately by phone with Mr Trump on Sunday.

The US president said: “We had a very good conversation yesterday [with the two presidents] and I think maybe we can do something here. I really do. I think they’re both open to it.”

Mr Zelensky said on Monday that he had offered to meet Mr Putin at the G7 summit for talks to end their more than four-year-old war, but his Russian counterpart was not ready to speak.

While campaigning in 2024 for a return to the White House, Mr Trump claimed he would be able to end the Russia-Ukraine war within 24 hours of taking office. 

However, negotiations have stalled and he has since acknowledged that peace has proved much harder to achieve than he initially thought.

The G7 members are France, the US, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and Britain. Other guest nations at the summit, including Brazil, India, Kenya and South Korea, were invited to participate in some discussions.