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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that it would be appropriate to let Russia join the group of advanced industrialized G7 nations.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump pointed out that his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama, wanted Russia to come out of what was previously the G8.
"But I think it's much more appropriate to bring Russia in. It should be the G8, because many of the things we're talking about have to do with Russia," Trump said.
Russia was expelled from the G8 in 2014 because of its annexation of Crimea to Ukraine.
This was not the first time that Trump had proposed that Russia be reconstituted with the G7, which includes the United States, Germany, Japan, France, Britain, Italy and Canada.
In June 2018, Trump suggested Russia to attend the next G7 summit in Canada. A Kremlin spokesman seemed to reject this idea, saying that Russia was concentrating on other formats.
Two days later, President Vladimir Putin declared that Russia had not chosen the G7 and would be happy to welcome its members to Moscow.
Trump has periodically called for closer ties with Russia, although his government's policy includes heavy sanctions against Moscow.
Report from Steve Holland; written by Mohammad Zargham; edited by Jonathan Oatis and Dan Grebler
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