Leaders from the Group of Seven nations will shortly begin annual talks amid wars in Ukraine and the Middle East that add to global economic uncertainty, as host Canada tries to avoid a clash with US President Donald Trump.

The G7 leaders from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US, along with the European Union, are convening in the resort of Kananaskis in the Canadian Rockies until Tuesday.

But beyond the serene and picturesque mountain setting, they confront challenges. The first five months of Trump's second term upended foreign policy on Ukraine, raised anxiety over his closer ties to Russia and resulted in tariffs on US allies.

With an escalating Israel-Iran conflict, which is spiking global oil prices, the summit in Canada is seen as a vital moment to try and restore a semblance of unity between democratic powerhouses.

"The most important goal will be for the world's seven largest industrial nations to reach agreement and take action," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said before attending his first G7.

That will not be easy. After years of consensus, the traditional allies have scrambled to keep Trump engaged and maintain unity.

Canada has abandoned any effort to adopt an all-encompassing comprehensive communique to avert a repeat of a 2018 summit in Quebec, when Trump instructed the US delegation to withdraw its approval of the final communique after leaving.

Canadian PM Mark Carney arrives in Calgary for the G7. – AP

Instead, Ottawa has sought to get consensus for a chair's statement that summarizes the key discussions and six other pre-negotiated declarations on issues such as migration, artificial intelligence and forest fires.

Talks will centre around the economy, advancing trade deals, and China.

Efforts to reach an agreement to lower the G7 price cap on Russian oil even if Trump decided to opt out have been complicated by the surge in oil prices since Israel launched strikes on Iran on June 12, two diplomatic sources said.

Israel’s strikes on Iran and Tehran’s retaliation, which appeared to catch many world leaders unawares, is the latest sign of a more volatile world.

Trump in recent days vetoed an Israeli plan to kill Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in an indication of how far Israel was prepared to go.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he had discussed efforts to de-escalate the crisis with Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as other world leaders and said he expected “intense discussions” would continue at the summit.

As summit host, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has decided to abandon the annual practice of issuing a joint statement, or communique, at the end of the meeting.

The escalation between the two regional foes is on the agenda, with diplomatic sources saying they hope to achieve at least a joint statement to urge restraint and a return to diplomacy.

"We are united. Nobody wants to see Iran get a nuclear weapon and everyone wants discussions and negotiations to restart," France's President Emmanuel Macron told reporters in Greenland before travelling to Canada.

He added that given Israel's dependence on US weapons and munitions, Washington had the capacity to restart negotiations.

Trump said on Sunday many calls and meetings were taking place to broker peace.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is greeted on arrival in Calgary, Alberta. – AP

With other leaders wanting to talk to Trump in an effort to talk him out of imposing tariffs, the summit risks being a series of bilateral conversations rather than a show of unity.

Trump is the summit wild card. Looming over the meeting are his threats to make Canada the 51st state and take over Greenland. French President Emmanuel Macron visited Greenland on Sunday for a highly symbolic stop on his way to Canada. Macron warned that Greenland is “not to be sold” nor “to be taken".

“Everybody in France, the European Union thinks that Greenland is not to be sold, not to be taken,” he said during a news conference, applauded by the local crowd.

“The situation in Greenland is clearly a wakeup call for all Europeans. Let me tell you very directly that you’re not alone,” Macron added.

Speaking to media alongside Britain's Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told reporters that she was "very happy" about Italy and Britain's cooperation on migration and that they were working together to establish a joint declaration to tackle human trafficking.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni speaks with British counterpart Keir Starmer at the G7 summit. - Reuters

Leaders who are not part of the G7 but have been invited to the summit by Carney include the heads of state of India, Ukraine, Brazil, South Africa, South Korea, Australia, Mexico and the UAE. Avoiding tariffs will continue to be top of mind.

Asked if he planned to announce any trade agreements at the G7 as he left the White House on Sunday, Trump said: “We have our trade deals."

"All we have to do is send a letter, ‘This is what you’re going to have to pay’. But I think we’ll have a few, few new trade deals.”

Bilateral meetings with the American president can be fraught as Trump has used ones at the White House to try to intimidate the leaders of Ukraine and South Africa.

Former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien told a panel this week that if Trump does act out, leaders should ignore him and remain calm like Carney did in his recent Oval Office meeting.

“If Trump has decided to make a show to be in the news, he will do something crazy," Chrétien said. "Let him do it and keep talking normally.”

Last month Britain and the US announced they had struck a trade deal that will slash American tariffs on UK autos, steel and aluminium. It has yet to take effect, however, though British officials say they are not concerned the Trump administration might go back on its word.

Britain's Prime Minister Starmerarrives at at Calgary Airport, ahead of the G7 summit leaders' summit. - Reuters

Starmer’s attempts to woo Trump have left him in an awkward position with Canada, the UK’s former colony, close ally and fellow Commonwealth member. Starmer has also drawn criticism – especially from Canadians – for failing to address Trump’s stated desire to make Canada the 51st state.

Asked if he has told Trump to stop the 51st state threats, Starmer said: “I’m not going to get into the precise conversations I’ve had, but let me be absolutely clear – Canada is an independent, sovereign country and a much-valued member of the Commonwealth.”

Russian elephant in the room

Highlighting the unease among some of Washington's allies, Trump spoke on Saturday with Russian President Vladimir Putin and suggested the Russian leader could play a mediation role.

Macron dismissed the idea, arguing that Moscow could not be a negotiator because it had started an illegal war against Ukraine.

A European diplomat said Trump's suggestion showed that Russia, despite being kicked out of the group in 2014 after annexing Crimea, was very much on US minds.

"In the eyes of the US, there's no condemnation for Ukraine; no peace without Russia; and now even credit for its mediation role with Iran. For Europeans, this will be a really tough G7," the diplomat said.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will attend the summit on Tuesday. European officials said they hoped to use the meeting, and next week's NATO summit, to convince Trump to toughen his stance on Putin.

"The G7 should have the objective for us to converge again, for Ukraine to get a ceasefire to lead to a robust and lasting peace, and in my view it's a question of seeing whether President Trump is ready to put forward much tougher sanctions on Russia," Macron said.