Hopes for refugee crisis plan fall into chasm between G7 and Trump

Source: The Guardian

Fundamental disagreements between the US president, Donald Trump, and other G7 leaders at the joint summit in Sicily have become so vast that they may be forced to issue a brief leaders’ statement rather than a fully-fledged communique, dashing Italian hopes of engineering a big step forward on migration and famine.

A carefully laid plan prepared by the Italian hosts for a comprehensive package on the migration crisis has been blocked. Its replacement removes any commitments on the US to take refugees.

Italy had chosen Taormina in Sicily as the venue to host the G7 precisely as a symbol of the world’s concern over the plight of refugees coming from Africa. It had hoped the meeting would end with a bold statement that the world, and not just individual nations, had a responsibility for the refugee crisis. Italy is on course to take 200,000 refugees this year, and more than 1,300 have drowned this year in the perilous crossing from Libya to Italy.

The disagreements have spread to climate change, trade and food security, revealing the chasm between Trump and his fellow leaders at the summit.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/26/trump-set-to-clash-with-other-g7-leaders-over-refugees-and-climate