Washington: US president Donald Trump’s controversial suggestion that Russia should be attending a Group of Seven summit in Canada seemed to have been rejected by the very nation it was meant for.
“Russia is focused on other formats, apart from the G7,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a brief statement reported by the government-controlled Sputnik news agency, appearing to snub Trump’s idea. Russia was expelled from what was then called the G8 in 2014 because of its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. Trump’s suggestion of readmitting Russia was unlikely to gain any traction at the gathering of the group that includes the United States, Canada, Japan, Britain, Italy, France and Germany.
A senior British government source said Russia needs to change its approach before any conversation about it rejoining the G7 can begin.
A French presidential source said Trump’s proposal did not seem “coherent” in view of the latest economic sanctions imposed by the United States on Moscow.
However, new Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte threw his weight behind Trump’s call for Russia to be included, saying on Twitter it would be “in the interests of everyone.”
Fellow Republicans assail suggestion
Trump told reporters before leaving Washington: “You know, whether you like it or not, and it may not be politically correct, but we have a world to run and the G7, which used to be the G8, they threw Russia out, they can let Russia come back in, because we should have Russia at the negotiating table.”
At least three of Trump’s fellow Republicans in the US Senate, all frequent critics of the president, assailed his suggestion of readmitting Russia to the group.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer criticised the Republican president’s leadership. “We need the president to be able to distinguish between our allies and adversaries, and to treat each accordingly,” he said in a statement.
Trump’s presidency has been clouded by a federal investigation into Russian meddling into the 2016 US election and possible coordination by people in Trump’s campaign. Both Moscow and Trump have denied any such activity.
Trump has periodically called for closer ties with Russia, although his administration’s policy has included strong sanctions against Moscow.
