May 26 (UPI) — Leaders at the G7 summit in Italy agreed Friday that more needs to be done to fight global terrorism — both on the ground and on the Internet.
The heads of state — including President Donald Trump, British Prime Minister Theresa May and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni — concurred at the meeting in Sicily that more can be accomplished in combating militant plots and ideologies.
As part of the agreement, the leaders signed a document calling on Internet companies to identify and weed out extremist material online — elements that experts say aim to inspire and recruit radical insurgents.
The action on counter-terrorism Friday came days after a militant attack on an Ariana Grande concert in Britain that killed nearly two dozen people. Investigators are still investigating Monday’s bombing at Manchester Arena, which also injured dozens, and searching for potential accomplices.
“We showed our united commitment and our determination to continue and to strengthen our fight against terrorism,” Gentiloni said.
While leaders at the G7 summit concurred on Internet terrorism, they did not come to an agreement on climate change — because Trump, who’s already threatened to remove the United States from the landmark 2015 Paris climate change accord, remains uncertain of his stance on the matter.
“We had a very good discussion about the importance of this issue of climate change and about how we address this issue of climate change,” May said. “The United States is considering its position in relation to these matters and what its policies are going to be.”
“There is one open question, which is the U.S. position on the Paris climate accords,” Gentiloni added. “All others have confirmed their total agreement on the accord.
“We are sure that after an internal reflection, the United States will also want to commit to it.”
Nations of the Group of Seven — the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan — are expected to digest a number of other issues at the two-day meeting, including trade and immigration. Two representatives of the European Union are also privy to the talks, which will also address regional tensions involving Russia, North Korea, Africa and Syria.
“Since our last G7 summit in Japan (in 2016) we haven’t seen anything to justify a change in our sanctions policy towards Russia,” EU Council President Donald Tusk said Friday. “Therefore I will appeal to the other G7 leaders to reconfirm this policy.”
Britain’s exit from the EU will also be a topic of discussion, particularly between Trump and May.
