At G7 summit, Trump criticizes Russia’s G8 ouster — Kremlin agrees

He said this to journalists, AP reports.

“Putin talks to me. He doesn’t talk to anyone else. He doesn’t want to talk because he was very offended when he was kicked out of the G7,” Trump said.

He recalled that the group previously existed as the G8, but during Barack Obama’s presidency and with the participation of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Russia was excluded, which, according to Trump, was a mistaken decision.

“Barack Obama and a person named Trudeau didn’t want to have Russia in. And I would say that was a mistake, because I think you wouldn’t have a war right now if you had Russia in and you wouldn’t have a war right now if Trump were president four years ago,” said the U.S. president.

Trump emphasized that, without Russia’s participation, discussions on security issues are supposedly incomplete: “You spend so much time discussing Russia, but they’re no longer at the negotiating table.”

Kremlin's response

The Kremlin agrees with Trump that removing Russia from the G8 “was a mistake,” but says the group no longer matters to Russia's leadership.

"We agree [with President Trump]: it was a big mistake then, regarding the exclusion of Russia from the G8 format. Our position is very well known that now the G8 has lost its practical meaning for us," said Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for the Russian leader, as quoted by TASS.

Peskov added that the Kremlin is closely watching the summit.
"This is an important event, of course, and it is informationally significant. Of course, we analyze the information that comes in," Peskov noted.

• In Canada, the next G7 summit will continue until Tuesday, June 17. On its sidelines, a meeting between the presidents of Ukraine and the United States, Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump, is planned.