Russia and Putin · First term · № 58

On Russia

Postponed the G7 summit and said he wanted to invite Russia to an expanded meeting

“I'm postponing it because I don't feel that as a G7 it properly represents what's going on in the world.”
Said
, Remarks to reporters aboard Air Force One
Subject
G7 invitation to Russia
Type
NATO and allies
Topic
Ukraine & Russia
Era
First term

What happened

On May 30, 2020 Trump postponed the G7 summit he was due to host and said he planned to invite Russia, Australia, South Korea and India, calling the G7 a "very outdated group of countries." Russia was expelled from the group in 2014 after annexing Crimea and still holds the territory. The Kremlin said on June 1 that Trump had told Putin of the idea by phone. A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Britain would not support readmitting Russia as a member, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Russia "will continue to remain out." The House had passed a bipartisan resolution in December 2019 supporting Russia's exclusion. On August 10 Trump said he "certainly would invite" Putin to a summit held after the election.

Sources

  1. Trump postpones the G-7 summit and seeks to add countries to the invitation list CNBC (Reuters), May 31, 2020
  2. Trump postpones G7 meeting, seeks expansion of members PBS News (Associated Press), May 30, 2020
  3. Canada, Britain not interested in Russia attending G7 despite another Trump trial balloon CBC News (Thomson Reuters), Jun 1, 2020
  4. The President's News Conference The American Presidency Project, Aug 10, 2020