At the G7 summit in Canada, US President Donald Trump reiterated his call for Russia’s readmission to the group, arguing that its expulsion in 2014 over the Crimea annexation was a “big mistake.”
He suggested that keeping Russia in the G8 could have prevented the ongoing Ukraine war.
Speaking alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Trump stated, “You wouldn’t have that war,” emphasizing that Russia’s presence at the table might have altered geopolitical outcomes.
His remarks, made ahead of a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, underscored a divergence from the G7’s collective stance on Russia.
The summit highlighted tensions over Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pushed for tighter sanctions, proposing a reduction in the Russian oil price cap from $60 to $45 per barrel to curb Moscow’s revenues.
She stated, “Sanctions are critical to that end. As a result of the G7 and EU sanctions combined, for example, Russian oil and gas revenues have fallen by almost 80% since the beginning of the war.”
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy criticized Russia’s refusal to agree to a 30-day ceasefire, saying, “Russia spits in the face of everything the international community is trying to do to stop this war.”
Trump, however, expressed reluctance to impose further sanctions, noting, “Sanctions costs us a lot of money. It costs the US a lot of money.”
The Kremlin aligned with Trump’s perspective, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov calling the G7 “rather useless” and agreeing that Russia’s expulsion was a mistake.
Peskov remarked, “Given the declining share of the G7 countries in the global economy, given all the trends that are observed in the G7 countries and, of course, against the background of, for example, such formats as the G20, the G7 looks dull and rather useless.”
Trump’s comments, alongside his tariff discussions with Carney, where he affirmed, “I’m a tariff person,” highlighted his divergence from traditional G7 policies, raising questions about the group’s unity and future approach to Russia and global trade.