Biarritz, France: G7 leaders back strengthening cooperation with Russia after its expulsion from the group in 2014 but believe it is too early to reintegrate Moscow and return to a G8, diplomatic sources said Sunday.

“The leaders of the G7 are in favour of reinforcing coordination with Russia on current crises (but) ... it is too early for reintegration,” said a diplomatic source. Russia was thrown out of what was the G8 in 2014 after it seized Ukraine’s Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, an annexation never recognised by the international community.

The G7 now brings together Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States. The source added the seven leaders agreed the position on Russia during the summit’s opening dinner late Saturday. US President Donald Trump, who will host next year’s 2020 summit, has floated the possibility of Russia being allowed back in. Asked Sunday about inviting Russia to next year’s G7, Trump responded: “That I don’t know. It’s certainly possible.”

SNIPPETS

Trump, Johnson discuss Huawei on sidelines

US President Donald Trump and Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson discussed Huawei and 5G technology at a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of a G7 summit in France on Sunday, the White House said. “The President and Prime Minster also addressed global security issues of mutual concern, especially Iran’s threat to freedom of navigation in the Gulf, tensions in Hong Kong, 5G and Huawei, and instability in Libya and the Sahel region,” the White House said.

G7 to help nations hit by Amazon fires

World leaders at the G7 summit have agreed to help the countries affected by the huge wildfires ravaging the Amazon rainforest as soon as possible, French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday. “We are all agreed on helping those countries which have been hit by the fires as fast as possible,” he told journalists at the summit. Ahead of the gathering, Macron called on world leaders to hold urgent talks on the wildfires ripping through the world’s largest rainforest, pledging “concrete measures” to tackle it. Although about 60 per cent of the Amazon is in Brazil, the vast forest also takes in parts of eight other countries: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela. “This morning, Colombia called on the international community (to help), so we must help out,” he said. “Our teams are making contact with all the Amazon countries so we can finalise some very concrete commitments involving technical resources and funding.”

Sink or Swim, Johnson takes G7 ocean dip

Facing accusations from political opponents of being out at sea over his Brexit strategy, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson strode into the Atlantic Ocean for a bracing dip on Sunday before tackling trade talks with western allies at a G7 summit.

Johnson plunged into the waters off Biarritz flanked by French soldiers and with Britain’s ambassador to France, Ed Llewellyn, in tow. Better known for his fondness of cycling before entering 10 Downing Street, Johnson swam around a rocky outcrop several hundred metres off a Biarritz beach. “Let me give you a metaphor,” Johnson told ITV. “I swam round that rock this morning. From here you cannot tell there is a gigantic hole in that rock. There is a way through.” Caught between European and US thinking, Johnson was treading a delicate path, needing to avoid angering a volatile Trump and risking trade ties while not alienating himself from other leaders who have a more multilateral approach to world politics.