Trump Says Russia Should Be Readmitted to G7 [View all]

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/20/us/politics/trump-russia-g7.html

Trump Says Russia Should Be Readmitted to G7
By Michael Crowley
Aug. 20, 2019, 7:52 p.m. ET


President Vladimir V. Putin on Monday did not reject the idea of Russia rejoining the group of industrialized nations but asked: “How can I come back into an organization that doesn’t exist? It is called the G7 today.” Pool photo by Gerard Julien

WASHINGTON — President Trump said on Tuesday that Russia should be readmitted to the Group of 7 industrialized nations, a call for ending Moscow’s pariah status on the world stage that is likely to earn a cool reception when the group’s annual summit opens this weekend.

Speaking a few days before his planned departure for the summit, in Biarritz, France, Mr. Trump said that Moscow’s exclusion since 2014 from the group of leading economic powers should be reversed and, ignoring Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, contended that the true reason for it was President Barack Obama’s wounded pride.

“I think it’s much more appropriate to have Russia in,” Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office before a meeting with President Klaus Iohannis of Romania. “I could certainly see it being the G8 again.”

One reason, Mr. Trump said, was “because a lot of the things we talk about have to do with Russia.”