Trump wants Russia back in G-7

President’s lament brings criticism at start of summit with allies

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said Friday that Russia should be allowed to rejoin the Group of Seven forum of leading economies, breaking with other leaders of that group who are meeting this weekend in Quebec.

As he left the White House on his way to the G-7 meeting, Trump lamented that Russia was expelled from the global political group in 2014 after it annexed Crimea. The United States and its allies supported Russia’s ejection at the time.

“Russia should be in this meeting,” Trump told reporters. “Why are we having a meeting without Russia being in the meeting?”

Trump described himself as “Russia’s worst nightmare” but said that “we have a world to run.” Trump has sought to build a better relationship with Russia, but the approach has been questioned because of the special counsel’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, speaking to a Russian state news outlet, did not say whether his country would rejoin the group if invited. He said Russia is “focused on other formats, apart from the G-7.”

The idea drew bipartisan criticism from Capitol Hill.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Russian President Vladimir Putin “chose to make Russia unworthy of membership in the G-8 by invading Ukraine and annexing Crimea.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., accused Trump of “turning our foreign policy into an international joke.”

Trump’s remarks were the latest show of disunity between the U.S. and the other nations meeting this weekend. Trump is expected to face tense meetings after his decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom.