Kirton: A Big Boost for Evian’s Success on the Summit’s Eve

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A Big Boost for Evian’s Success on the Summit’s Eve

John Kirton, G7 Research Group
June 15, 2026

A big boost for the G7’s Evian Summit success arrived on its eve with the long-awaited news that a peace deal had been reached between the United States and Iran. With its formal announcement and details coming on Friday, June 19, the glow of success will endure to the summit’s end, before critics could credibly complain about how incomplete or unbalanced this initial deal might be. It will, at a minimum, provide immediate relief and hope to those being killed, inured or displaced in the region and to the many suffering from reduced supplies and higher prices for the gasoline, food and fertilizer they need around the world.

This welcome news, coming one day before President Donald Trump’s arrival in Evian and the start of the G7 leaders’ discussions on Monday evening, means Trump will be celebrated and praised by his fellow G7 leaders and the surrounding media from the time he arrives at the summit to its end, with his dinner with French president Emmanuel Macron in Paris at the Palace of Versailles on Wednesday evening. The scheduled announcement of the deal on Friday in nearby Geneva makes it possible for Trump to remain in Europe another two days, to sign the deal for the US himself instead of his vice-president JD Vance, prolonging the limelight and praise for him as a peacemaker even longer, before he return to a more mixed reaction back in the US. In any event, some might even wonder if the approach of the summit and Trump’s departure to it made him offer the last-minute concessions to seal the deal with Iran, so he could be the centre of praise rather than criticism throughout the summit itself.

But for Evian Summit itself in France, it means that G7 leaders, already scheduled to discuss the war with Iran at their opening dinner, can bask in their newly boosted unity, having achieved their basic goal that the fighting must stop and the Strait of Hormuz open up before the many other important issues could fall into place. At their dinner leaders can now start the hard work of ensuring that this initial deal leads to enduring peace and rebuilding in the Middle East. They got off to a fast start, for when the news broke, the so-called E4 of France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom announced that their sanctions on Iran would end. Over dinner all G7 leaders will be asked, and will probably agree, to send military forces of varying kinds to the Strait of Hormuz to help ensure that it remains open. Their presence there will make it more difficult for the US or Iran to start shooting at each other or their regional allies again. The G7 leaders’ discussions the next day with their guests from Egypt, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates could lead to discussions about creating a regional regime to help govern the Strait and extend the peace and bring prosperity back to the Middle East as a whole.

This big step toward peace in the Gulf will also allow G7 leaders, when they meet with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy the next morning, to do more to end Russia’s war against Ukraine, by agreeing to put more sanctions on Russia and provide more support for Ukraine.

And this major progress on the summit’s two key wars will allow G7 leaders do more on the big economic, development, social and environmental issues they face. These prospects received another boost from the announcement of summit progress by Macron when he arrived in Evian on Sunday evening.

Macron said G7 leaders would meet Zelensky to further support Ukraine, its energy infrastructure, and its war effort, and to prepare the proper conditions for negotiations with Russia to ensure that Ukraine as a whole would survive.

He said leaders would then discuss Iran and the peace deal, with Egypt, Qatar and the UAE, to identify the consequences of the deal, offer support to Lebanon, the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, an agreement on nuclear and ballistic missiles in Iran, diversifying routes for energy that leaves the region to reduce G7 dependence on them, and the consequences of the Middle East crisis on economies.

G7 leaders would then discuss the big global economic imbalances, how to treat them and their disruptions of international trade, the partnership between the Global North and South, how to mobilize private finance, and re-establish solidarity, based on their experts work and detailed exchange with the G7, India and China.

G7 leaders would then discuss artificial intelligence with important technology and social media leaders focusing on improving cybersecurity and the resistance of G7 systems and protecting children and democracy.

G7 leaders would adopt and issue many statements, on critical minerals, rare earths, international commerce, health, cancer, Ebola, the fight against narcotics, immigration, and other issues.

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	Please send comments to: g7@utoronto.ca This page was last updated June 15, 2026.