Angela Merkel and Narendra Modi were both at the G-7 climate change session in Biarritz. Photo / Getty Images
Angela Merkel and Narendra Modi were both at the G-7 climate change session in Biarritz. Photo / Getty Images
This year's G7 summit ended without any of the acrimony that marred last year's event when US President Donald Trump refused to sign the final communique and blew up at his host, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
But there was still a whiff of controversy on the last day, as Trump skipped an important meeting for mysterious reasons.
Donald Trump was conspicuously absent from the climate change session. Photo / AP
When the leaders of G7 members France, Germany, Britain, Canada, Japan, Italy and a number of guest nations assembled for a morning session devoted to climate change policy, one seat at the table was conspicuously empty.
The White House brushed off his absence by telling reporters he had a scheduling conflict.
"The President had scheduled meetings and bilaterals with Germany and India, so a senior member of the administration attended instead," said White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham.
The problem? German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi were both at the climate change session. We know this because there are photos of them.
Trump's official schedule showed he was supposed to attend a meeting with Merkel at 9.15am, then the climate change session at 10am and a meeting with Modi at noon.
Angela Merkel and Narendra Modi were both at the G-7 climate change session in Biarritz. Photo / Getty Images
So the bilateral meetings with Germany and India were real — but they did not conflict with the climate change session, which both other leaders managed to attend.
"We don't know exactly what happened. Perhaps he had some urgent, classified priority that they can't tell us about. Perhaps he had to go to the bathroom," said CNN reporter and fact checker Daniel Dale.
"But what we do know is that it was on his schedule. The White House then told us he didn't come because he had meetings with Modi and Merkel, and then we saw this photo of Modi and Merkel.
"The simplest explanation is simply that the White House lied again to cover for him."
The host of the summit, French President Emmanuel Macron, shrugged off Trump's absence from the meeting.
"He wasn't in the room, but his team was," Macron said at a press conference afterwards, urging the media not to read too much into it.
As host, Macron made climate change a central focus of the summit. But the issue was not mentioned in the statement his government distributed on behalf of the seven nations to mark the end of proceedings.
Narendra Modi and Donald Trump did meet together, but there was no scheduling clash. Photo / AP
"The leaders of the G7 wish to emphasise their great unity and the positive spirit of their debates," the document read.
Instead of climate change, it highlighted trade, Iran and Hong Kong as the main areas of discussion during the event.
"The G7 is committed to open and fair global trade and to the stability of the global economy," it said, outlining plans to make the World Trade Organisation more effective, simplify regulatory barriers and modernise international taxation.
There was no explicit reference to Trump's trade war with China — a reflection, perhaps, of the other leaders' efforts throughout the summit to avoid offending the US President.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, for example, had talked tough on trade before flying to Biarritz.
When he was face-to-face with Trump, however, Johnson obscured his criticism with deferential language.
"I congratulate the President on everything the American economy is achieving. It's fantastic to see that. But just to register a faint, sheeplike note of our view on the trade war, we're in favour of trade peace on the whole and dialling it down if we can," Johnson said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, left, in white, meets French President Emmanuel Macron, right, in white, in Biarritz. Photo / AP
The diciest moment came when Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif showed up to the summit as a surprise guest of Macron.
The French President only told his counterparts he had issued the invitation the night before.
Trump withdrew from the nuclear agreement his predecessor Barack Obama had signed with Iran in May of last year and reimposed sanctions on the country's economy. The other G7 nations remain opposed to that move.
Trump could have taken Macron's decision to invite Zarif as a provocation. Instead, he welcomed it.
"Macron spoke with me, he asked me," Trump said.
"I said if you want to do it, that's okay. I don't consider that disrespectful at all, especially when he asked me for approval."
Macron then doubled down, publicly urging Trump to meet with Iran.
"At a given point in time there will have to be a meeting between the American and Iranian president, and I would wish that in the coming weeks such a meeting take place," Macron told reporters.
"I want this meeting to happen."
Again, Trump responded serenely, saying he believed Iran wanted to "get this situation straightened out" and there was a "really good chance" a meeting could indeed happen in the coming weeks.
Scott Morrison meets with Boris Johnson at the G-7 summit in Biarritz. Photo / AP
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison was another guest at the G7, albeit one who drew less attention, reports news.com.au.
"I'm not one that rushes to the plane to attend summits," Morrison told the Australian reporters who followed him to France.
"As Australia's Prime Minister, I always prefer to be in Australia dealing with issues on the ground domestically."
His most productive meeting was with Johnson. The pair agreed Australia and Britain would be able to sign a crucial bilateral trade deal quickly after Britain's looming exit from the European Union on October 31.
"We are going to have a great relationship despite his cricket sledging, which was very modest, I have to say," Morrison said, cheekily referring to England's dramatic comeback victory in the Ashes.
More generally, the Prime Minister said the summit had included some encouraging signs for Australia's role on the world stage.
"People are noticing what Australia is doing and they want us to be part of what's happening at this level," he said.
Next year's G7 will be hosted by the United States, which sets up a couple of interesting decisions for Trump.
The world leaders came together to discuss a raft of issues but instead of climate change, highlighted trade, Iran and Hong Kong as the main areas of discussion. Photo / AP
He cited its infrastructure and proximity to the airport to support the idea but was criticised for seemingly seeking to profit personally from hosting the summit.
More importantly, Trump must decide whether or not to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin as a guest.
Russia was kicked out of what was then the G8 in 2014 after its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. Trump has repeatedly pushed for it to be readmitted, but the other G7 leaders are fiercely opposed.
As host, he will have the power to invite Putin.
This year's summit ended without a major diplomatic incident — seemingly against the odds. Next year's promises to be more explosive.
