“Without Russia, the format is inferior”: how the issue of Moscow’s return was discussed at G7

US President Donald Trump said that he might invite Russian leader Vladimir Putin as a guest at the next G7 summit, which will be held in 2020 in the United States. He told reporters on the sidelines of the summit, which is being held in French Biarritz.

According to him, work on a return to the G8 format with the participation of Russia is "underway", but most likely no decisions will be made on this issue during the current summit.

“We (in G7. - RT ) have a number of people who would like Russia to return,” Trump said.

The American leader noted that Russia's participation in the format would be “profitable” from the point of view of discussing a number of issues and would be positive.

Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron also noted that a return to the G8 format with the participation of Russia “would be appropriate in the future.”

In turn, the Japanese news agency Kyodo, citing a representative of his country, reported that the issue of Russia's participation in the summit was also considered at a general meeting of the G7 countries. At the same time, the Japanese official noted that the contents of this conversation "will never be disclosed."

The Kremlin said that if an invitation to attend the next session of the summit arrives, it will be considered. This was announced by the press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov.

“President Putin at a press conference already answered: if there is (invitation. - RT ), then we will definitely consider it,” Peskov noted.

First, G7 leaders should agree among themselves and unanimously announce their desire to see Russia among the summit participants, said Alexei Martynov, director of the Institute of Newest States, in a conversation with RT.

“Russia is completely satisfied with the G20 format, which includes representatives of the G7 and the leading economies of the world - China and India. Within the framework of the "Big Twenty" it is really possible to develop some global solutions and trends that are related to the economy. The G7 club is a kind of a cabal, a trade union that develops general trends, and then goes with these initiatives to the G20 summit, where it is trying to draw its own line, ”the expert said.

Obama's Legacy and Zelensky's Objections

With a similar proposal - on the return of Russia to the G7 - Donald Trump spoke earlier, on August 20, in anticipation of the summit. Then he announced this at a meeting with Romanian President Klaus Johannis.

“I think it would be more appropriate for Russia to be a member of (G7. - RT ),” the White House press service quoted Trump as saying.

According to the American president, Russia was excluded from the existing G8 format due to the 44th US President Barack Obama, who was “outwitted” by Vladimir Putin.

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“I believe that President Obama, because it was Putin who outwitted him, thought that having Russia (in G8. - RT ) is a bad idea,” Trump said. “That shouldn't work like that.”

Vladimir Putin, commenting on these messages at a press conference before the start of negotiations with French President Emmanuel Macron, noted that Russia does not set itself the goal of returning to the G8 format. At the same time, he added that the Russian side is ready for any contacts with the G7 countries and "never refuses anything."

Recall that the G8 format ceased to exist after the reunification of Crimea with Russia in 2014. Then the leaders of the USA, Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada refused to take part in the summit, which was to be held in Sochi. Instead, a meeting of the Seven took place in Brussels.

After Macron and Trump allowed Russia to be invited to the next G7 summit, Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Moscow’s return should be connected with the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. In turn, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that London would oppose Russia's participation in the summit.

President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky also expressed his disagreement with Trump's proposal. On August 23, he had a telephone conversation with the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, in which he called on the European Union to oppose Russia's accession to the G7 format.

“Vladimir Zelensky called on the European Union to take a decisive position on the impossibility of Russia returning to the“ seven ”without eliminating the reasons why it was once excluded from it,” the message said on the website of the press service of the President of Ukraine.

After that, during a press conference before the start of the G7 summit, Donald Tusk proposed inviting Ukraine instead of Russia to the summit. Recall that the leader of the country hosting the summit has the right to invite leaders of other states to attend the event as guests.

Internal contradictions

According to Western media, for the American leader, the current summit is not going too smoothly. Bloomberg and The New York Times reported that advisers to the American president are allegedly unhappy with how French President Macron organized the agenda.

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According to representatives of the administration, Macron paid excessive attention to the issue of climate change in order to add to its popularity in France. Trump has consistently rejected the importance of this issue and prefers to discuss international trade.

This agenda, US officials say, is an attempt to “isolate” President Trump, writes Business Insider.

However, Trump himself, in his usual manner, accused the media of disseminating false information and assured everyone that he had “excellent relations” with the leaders of the “seven”.

Before I arrived in France, the Fake and Disgusting News was saying that relations with the 6 other countries in the G-7 are very tense, and that the two days of meetings will be a disaster. Just like they are trying to force a Recession, they are trying to “will” America into ..

“Before I arrived in France, the fake and vile media said that relations with the other six countries in G7 are very tense and that two days of meetings will be a disaster ... We have very good meetings, the leaders get along very well,” posted by Donald Trump on his Twitter.

Anti-Russian position

Alexei Martynov noted that the leaders of Western countries, in particular the USA and France, are aware that the current format of the summit is incomplete and requires the return of Russia.

“These statements demonstrate that the“ Western Club ”comes to the realization that without Russia, the“ seven ”format is inferior, and the isolation policy that Western countries tried to apply to Moscow has not changed anything,” said the expert.

In turn, Vladimir Shapovalov, deputy director of the Institute of History and Politics of the Moscow State Pedagogical University, in an interview with RT suggested that the votes “for” and “against” the return of Russia and the G8 format will be divided approximately equally.

“The initiators of the return of Russia - the United States and France, the presidents of these countries have openly supported this position. I think that in any situation, Italy will support this point of view, because it has had rather warm relations with Russia for many decades. Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom expressed their open rejection. These disagreements do not yet allow the G7 countries to develop a unified position on this issue, and they will affect the procedure for the return of Russia, ”the expert explained.

Obviously, the leaders of those countries that have done everything to exclude the Russian Federation from the G8 and are clearly pursuing an anti-Russian policy, “will strive to keep the G7 in the current format as much as possible,” concluded Vladimir Shapovalov.