WASHINGTON — The White House said Friday that there are no plans to invite Russia to rejoin the G-7 group of nations, a call that was frequently made by former President Donald Trump.
Any invitation for Russia to join the G-7 would be made in partnership with all of the group’s members, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Friday.
The group is currently meeting virtually, with President Joe Biden making the first international appearance of his presidency.
The group once known as the G-8 included the U.S., Canada, the U.K., France, Italy, Germany, Japan and Russia — but it was cut down to the G-7 in 2014 following Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea.
The annexation of Crimea from Ukraine sparked international uproar and triggered a series of sanctions on Moscow. Shortly after the annexation, a war broke out in eastern Ukraine between government forces and Russian-backed separatists.
Throughout his presidency, Trump called on G-7 members to reinstate Russia to the group and blamed his predecessor, in part, for Russian President Vladamir Putin’s aggression in Crimea and Ukraine.
„I’ve gone to numerous G-7 meetings, and I guess President Obama, because Putin outsmarted him, President Obama thought it wasn’t a good thing to have Russia in so he wanted Russia out. I think it’s much more appropriate to have Russia in and it should be the G-8,“ Trump said ahead of the G-7 meeting in 2019.
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