- Trump says he would like to invite Vladimir Putin to the next G7 summit of world leaders.
- Russia was banned from the club of countries in 2014 after its annexation of Crimea.
- Other G7 countries have recently said they opposed President Putin at meetings.
- On Monday, however, Trump said, “I would definitely invite him to the meeting.”
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Donald Trump says he would like to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to the next G7 summit of world leaders, despite opposition to Russia’s participation from other members, including the United Kingdom and Canada.
Speaking on Monday, President Trump said he was inclined to hold the G7 summit, which the US is set to host and which was delayed from June due to the coronavirus pandemic, following the presidential election in November.
Asked if he would invite Putin, Trump said in a statement to Reuters: “I do not know, but we have invited a number of people to the meeting. I would certainly invite him to the meeting.”
The G7 includes Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, Canada, and the United States. The group used Putin invited to meetings as the “G8”, but Russia was expelled in 2014 after annexing the Ukrainian region of Crimea.
A White House press release on June 1 said Trump and Putin had “discussed progress towards the G7” but did not provide further details.
Germany rejected a renewed suggestion from Trump in July that Russia should be invited to the G7 when it merged.
Heiko Maas, Germany’s foreign secretary, said last month that there was no prospect of re-entering Russia until it tackled the situation in Crimea and eastern Ukraine.
“The reason for Russia’s exclusion was the annexation of Crimea and intervention in eastern Ukraine,” he said.
“As long as we have no solution there, I see no opportunity here.”
France, the United Kingdom and Canada have all also opposed Russia’s return to the G7.
Trump did not say when the next G7 summit would take place, but said he hoped it would take place in a “calmer atmosphere” after the November presidential election. He said he would also like to invite Australia, South Korea and India.
“I’m much more inclined to do it sometimes after the election,” he told a White House news conference.
Trump kicked Democratic candidate Joe Biden in the polls to win the presidential election, but he would remain in office until the end of his full term in January of next year he would lose.
