BIARRITZ, France (AP) — The Latest on the Group of Seven leaders’ summit (all times local):
11:15 a.m.
Leaders of the G-7 countries agreed to allow French President Emmanuel Macron to address a message to Iran in their name.
The French presidency said Macron will hold talks with Iranian authorities on the basis of discussions at the Group of Seven summit informal dinner with U.S. President Donald Trump and other leaders on Saturday night in the French town of Biarritz.
No details were provided on the message but the French presidency said the goal is to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons and avoid further escalating tensions in the Middle East.
France holds the presidency of the Group of Seven rich democracies this year.
For several months, Macron has taken a lead role in trying to save the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran, which has been unraveling since Trump pulled the U.S. out of the agreement.
Macron met with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Paris on Friday before heading to Biarritz for the summit.
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10:50 a.m.
Critics of French President Emmanuel Macron are marching near the G-7 summit he is hosting to demand he do more to protect French workers and the planet.
A mix of activists, some wearing yellow vests, carried portraits of Macron as they marched Sunday through the southwest city of Bayonne. Some held the portraits upside down.
The march came as Macron hosted U.S. President Donald Trump and other leaders of major democracies for talks Sunday in neighboring Biarritz on the shaky global economy.
The protesters are holding portraits in solidarity with environmental activists who removed official portraits of Macron from town halls around France earlier this year to protest his climate change policies.
Internationally, Macron is a vocal champion of fighting climate change, and has challenged Trump on the issue. At home in France, however, activists accuse him of lagging on promises to wean France from fossil fuels.
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10:35 a.m.
U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson say they are talking about the way forward on a comprehensive trade agreement after Britain leaves the European Union.
In a joint statement Sunday after their first meeting, on the sidelines of the G-7 summit, the two said they would create a working group on trade issues. Johnson has complained about American restrictions on imports of food and other items.
The British prime minister is meeting later Sunday with European Council President Donald Tusk, whose welcome will be considerably less warm. The two are widely expected to discuss the bill for Brexit.
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9:45 a.m.
Leaders of the Group of Seven are arriving for a working meeting focused on looming threats to the global economy.
U.S. President Donald Trump and the leaders of the other G-7 countries, France, Britain, Italy, Japan, Germany, Canada as well as the European Union were expected to discuss the spread of trade disputes, notably the U.S. trade war with China.
Sunday’s gathering in the French seaside resort of Biarritz comes on the heels of the first face-to-face meeting between Trump and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is hoping for a quick trade accord with the United States as Britain’s exit from the European Union approaches.
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9:20 a.m.
U.S. President Donald Trump has offered British Prime Minister Boris Johnson a boost, saying he’s the “right man” to deliver Brexit.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in France, Trump was asked what his advice was for Britain’s departure from the European Union.
Trump responded: “He needs no advice. He is the right man for the job.”
Johnson replied that the president was “on message there.”
The much-anticipated meeting was the first since Johnson took Britain’s top job last month. The pair met for a working breakfast on Sunday after being photographed on Saturday night walking and talking on the margins of the summit.
Johnson desperately needs a U.S. trade deal post-Brexit, as Britain will lose its easy access to the EU’s single market.
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9:15 a.m.
Leaders of major world economies are meeting to discuss the shaky world economy amid trade disputes and uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies.
Trump tried to play down tensions among Group of Seven leaders after they had dinner Saturday in the southwest French resort of Biarritz. He is worried that the global economic slowdown is spreading to the U.S. before next year’s elections.
The G-7 leaders are meeting Sunday morning to focus on what they can do together to boost the economy. They include the heads of Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Canada and Italy.
Disputes on trade have unsettled the global economy because businesses don’t know where tariffs will be imposed.
Anti-capitalist protesters also plan demonstrations Sunday after clashing with police near Biarritz on the summit’s opening day Saturday.
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