The G7 was meant to be an insipid forum that unfailingly followed the US diktat, but the worm is apparently turning. The G7 foreign ministers meeting today in Lucca failed to fall in line with the British-American proposal to impose more sanctions against Russia over the Syrian crisis. The host country, Italy, upfront disagreed with adopting any hard line toward Russia – "we must not push Russia into a corner", as foreign minister Angelino Alfano put it.

Interestingly, Germany supported the Italian stance. Equally, the G7 agreed on the importance of a independent inquiry being conducted on the chemical attack in Idlib on April 4 (which had ostensibly triggered the US missile strike.)

The zig zag in the US policy toward Syria – blowing hot and cold – is eroding Trump's credibility in Europe, which is already low. The secretary of state Rex Tillerson had told the ABC on Sunday that 'regime change' in Syria is not the priority for the US, but in Lucca, he sang a different tune saying the Assad regime's days in power are numbered. Tillerson advocated an interventionist approach, saying, "We rededicate ourselves to holding to account any and all who commit crimes against the innocents anywhere in the world." (BBC, Guardian)