Oh boy! I look for Barry to screw this one up (he has with everything else). I find it laughable that he is expected to urge his counterparts to extend sanctions targeting Russia's economy. Really? So far that has accomplished what? Meanwhile, Putin is laughing in his face, Germany is less then pleased with him, Greece is on the verge of economic collapse (who's leader isn't even at the summit) Iraq wants money and Barry is making light of the situation with a couple of jokes while drinking some very good German beer. Sounds about right for him; I'm surprised it wasn't reported he decided to play a few rounds of golf while he was at it.
Obama attends G-7 summit in GermanyGARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany — President Obama on Sunday joined leaders of the world's major industrial economies for a two-day summit in Bavaria where the diplomatic discussions were expected to be dominated by the simmering conflict in eastern Ukraine and Greece's last-minute attempts to resolve its debt crisis.
Leaders from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan attended the Group of Seven, or G-7, meetings in Germany's Alpine region near the border with Austria. The European Union is also represented. Russia is excluded from the talks for the second year in a row for backing Ukrainian separatists — an allegation it denies.
Greece's leader Alexis Tsipras is not at the summit...
...The summit is taking place 25 years after the reunification of Germany and 70 years after World War II ended.
Amid a few joking references to lederhosen and beer — he said he forgot to bring his German leather breeches, and urged the crowd to partake of the latter — Obama said the G-7 meetings would seek to achieve consensus over standing up to Russian aggression in Ukraine, combating violent extremism, climate change and trade.
"It was a very fine beer. I wish I was staying," the president said as he was leaving Kruen.
Merkel said the U.S. was an "essential partner" for Germany but also alluded to occasional "differences of opinion."
Obama is expected to urge his counterparts to extend sanctions targeting Russia's economy and banks, even as Washington has admitted the measures have not dramatically shifted Russian President Vladimir Putin's thinking on Ukraine.
On Monday, the president will meet with Iraqi President Haider-al-Abadi, who may press the United States and its allies for more military support as his beleaguered nation struggles in the face of territorial advances by the Islamic State.
Tsipras, Greece's prime minister, has so far been unsuccessful in his attempts to break a deadlock between Greece and its creditors from the EU and International Monetary Fund. Representatives from the EU and IMF are at the summit.
Ahead of the G-7 summit, there were minor clashes between police and protesters in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, a town a few miles away from the Schloss Elmau hotel where the heavily guarded event is taking place. Demonstrators said they would attempt to get closer to the summit site Sunday but with thousands of police in the area, it was not clear if that would happen.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/06/07/g7-summit-germany/28638255/
