Saint-Jean-de-Luz, FranceCNN)Xonald Trump's G7 summit,hich began with trade strife and Iran discord, ended Monday with the President expressing enthusiastic optimism that a deal with China is near and the remarkable prospect he could meet in the coming weeks with his Iranian counterpart.
Whether either of those outcomes is likely or at all possible remains an open question. But the attempt to put a positive spin on an event Trump was dubious of even attending reflected at least the appearance of momentum on issues that have isolated Trump from his counterparts.
"There was tremendous unity. There was great unity," Trump said as he was preparing to depart. "I will tell you, we would have stayed for another hour. Nobody wanted to leave."
That's a cheerful assessment of the seaside gathering that was still marked by open disagreements on trade and lingering resentments over Trump's decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.
In dinners and meetings throughout the weekend, leaders confronted Trump on those issues and others. The consensus document that was produced at the end was only one-page long, and contained broad statements of agreement like a commitment to the "stability of the global economy" and a shared objective "that Iran can never acquire nuclear weapons."
Trump made little effort to disguise his differing opinions, saying at a news conference that tariffs were working and the Iran deal was "stupid."
But he sought to place those views within the realm of opinions that might be accepted by his fellow leaders, even as they expressed concern about the global consequences.
When his host, French President Emmanuel Macron, announced he was working to arrange a meeting between Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Trump initially declined to commit to meeting, saying bad behavior from Iran would be met with "violent force."
But later he said he thought it was realistic to think such a meeting could occur.
"I think there's a really good chance that we would meet," he said.
That would reflect a momentous occasion amid increasing tensions in the Persian Gulf following Trump's decision to withdraw from the Obama-era nuclear deal. The time frame spelled out by Macron could place the encounter at the yearly United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Macron said the meeting would come as a precursor to a new nuclear agreement, one that extended the window Iran would be required to curtail its nuclear program and included limits on ballistic missiles. He said it would also include compensations for Iran