Demonstrators carry posters and a giant Octopus depicting the Group of Seven during a protest in Garmisch-Partenkirchen against the G-7 summit. Photo / AP
Demonstrators carry posters and a giant Octopus depicting the Group of Seven during a protest in Garmisch-Partenkirchen against the G-7 summit. Photo / AP
Obama Administration calls for continued pressure on Russia, barred from summit.
US President Barack Obama was attending the G7 summit in southern Germany today with a focus on violence in eastern Ukraine.
Due at the summit in the Bavarian mountains, Obama arrived in Germany last night and was set to meet Chancellor Angela Merkel ahead of the gathering of leaders fromthe seven most industrialised countries. The seven leaders will also discuss combating climate change, Isis (Islamic State) the Mediterranean migration problem and Ebola.
With Russian President Vladimir Putin absent, having been excluded from the G8 after Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014, the Obama Administration is calling for continued pressure on Moscow, accused of backing a separatist rebellion in eastern Ukraine.
"It's very important coming out of these G7 meetings that the world is seen as speaking with one voice in support of those important consequences that have been imposed on Russia," said Obama adviser Ben Rhodes.
Demonstrators stage a mock killing as police walks past during a protest in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Photo / AP
On the sidelines of the summit, Obama will meet Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to discuss developments there and US efforts to support the country's forces against Isis.
Ahead of a Paris conference on climate change in December aiming for a global accord, G7 leaders will also try to agree on concrete steps.
"The G7 has the opportunity to move the world closer to a success in Paris by clearly stating its support for a strong international agreement that includes a long-term goal to phase out greenhouse gases by mid-century," said Jennifer Morgan of the World Resources Institute.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius spoke in Le Monde newspaper of "a major investment plan" in renewable energy for the African continent and of a new alert system for disasters affecting the most vulnerable countries.
British Prime Minister David Cameron is set to clash with Merkel over her plans for a pan-EU distribution of the migrants coming across the Mediterranean from North Africa, with Cameron insistent such measures will only encourage the traffickers.
US President Barack Obama, joined by Horst Seehofer, Minister President of Bavaria, second from right, and US Ambassador to Germany John B. Emerson, right. Photo / AP
The German Chancellor has said that finding a way forward on the migration crisis will be a priority during the talks. She has previously said there should be a new EU system that distributes asylum seekers to member states based on their population and economic strength.
Cameron intends to use the summit to warn other leaders that they must be far better prepared for future health pandemics that could be more aggressive and harder to contain than the recent Ebola outbreak.
A protester dressed as a clown. Photo / AP
Around 4000 people yesterday staged largely peaceful protests under a heavy police presence near the venue for the G7 summit.
Police reported isolated incidents and in one case deployed pepper spray to disperse protesters but the demonstration in Garmisch-Partenkirchen was noisy but mainly good-natured. There were seven police injuries.
