Aug 21, 2019 - World

Trump: Russia should rejoin the G7

President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, in June. Photo: Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images

President Donald Trump told reporters Tuesday that Russia should be readmitted to the G7, saying "it should be the G8."

Why it matters: Russia was disinvited in 2014 from attending the annual meeting of countries with the leading advanced economies for annexing Crimea, and Trump's comments are likely to put him further at odds with U.S. allies ahead of his attending the G7 summit, in Biarritz, France, this week.

The big picture: Trump also called for Russia to be readmitted to the G7 summit last year. He did not attach any conditions to his proposal this time, which the New York Times notes could signal that the international community has moved on from Russia's aggression toward Ukraine.

  • French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday that he was opposed to readmitting Russia into the G7 unless the Ukraine dispute ended, per Politico, which reported Putin stressed that his country was still in the G20.
"How can I come back into an organization that doesn’t exist? It’s the G7, not the G8."
— Putin at press conference in France

Go deeper: Trump National Doral is in the mix to host the G7 in 2020

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