CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump kicked off his time at the Group of Seven summit on Monday by suggesting that Russia and maybe even China should be part of the organization.
The U.S. leader indicated that he would rather have the G7 become the G8 or possibly even the G9, although Russia and China would notably be authoritarian governments in an organization whose members are democracies.
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Trump asserted that it was a “very big mistake” to remove Russia in 2014 after it annexed Crimea, a move that precipitated Russia’s wider invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The comments added more complexity regarding Trump’s interests as he is set to meet on Tuesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about ending the brutal war started by the invasion.
“The G7 used to be the G8. Barack Obama and a person named Trudeau didn’t want to have Russia in,” Trump said, referring to Justin Trudeau, who was elected Canadian prime minister the year after Russia was removed from the G8. Stephen Harper was the Canadian prime minister at the time.
“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,” Trump said. “They threw Russia out, which I claimed was a very big mistake, even though I wasn’t in politics then.”
Trump added that Russia’s leader, Vladimir Putin, is “no longer at the table, so it makes life more complicated.”
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Asked by a reporter if China should also be added, Trump said: “It’s not a bad idea. I don’t mind that if somebody wants to see just China coming in.”
The U.S. president said it’s important for world leaders to be able to speak with one another at summits.
“Putin speaks to me. He doesn’t speak to anybody else,” Trump said. “He doesn’t want to talk because he was very insulted when he got thrown out of the G8, as I would be, as you would be, as anybody would be.”
Trump was speaking to reporters after meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who is hosting the summit in Kananaskis, along the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
The U.S. president has levied steep tariffs against dozens of countries, and the G7 leaders are also trying to address the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. But Carney tried to flatter Trump by noting that the G7 would be rudderless without the U.S.
“The G7 is nothing without U.S. leadership,” Carney said.
