Berlin - The Bavarian Alps venue may look tranquil, but global turmoil -- from Ukraine to Islamist militants and the Greek crisis -- dominates the agenda of the G7 summit, which is being held without Russia.
From Sunday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosts US President Barack Obama and the other leaders of the Group of Seven rich nations, with Russian President Vladimir Putin barred for a third time from what was previously the G8.
The leaders of the top industrialised democracies, who will meet for two days at the tightly guarded Elmau Castle retreat, argue that Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea last year has, at least temporarily, disqualified it from the group.
"Common values and views on democracy are what symbolise the G7," Merkel said Thursday about the scaled-down grouping.
Kicking off events early on Sunday, Merkel will treat Obama to some traditional Bavarian hospitality.
Together they will visit a beer garden-style event in the nearby village of Kruen, population 1,900, and meet locals over frothy stone mug beers, pretzels and oompah brass music, with views of the majestic Wetterstein Mountain.
Then it'll be down to business as the G7 leaders arrive from 1100 GMT, including Britain's David Cameron, Canada's Stephen Harper, France's Francois Hollande, Italy's Matteo Renzi and Japan's Shinzo Abe.
Merkel -- the group's veteran after nearly a decade in office -- has repeatedly urged Putin to end Ukraine's separatist conflict so he can return to the club and help deal with other pressing global challenges on the G7 agenda, from climate change to security threats.
Weighing heavily on the leaders' minds as they discuss the world economy will be the looming threat of crisis-hit Greece crashing out of the eurozone if it fails to resolve a reforms-for-cash dispute with its creditors.
"It would be astonishing... if the topic of Greece were not discussed," said a German government source, who stressed however that crucial decisions "cannot be made at Elmau and are not expected".
To discuss Greece and other issues of global significance, the G7 has also invited the heads of multilateral bodies such as the United Nations, IMF, World Bank and WTO, as well as the chief of the EU executive, Jean-Claude Juncker.
AFP
