Russia and Putin · First term · № 54
Called for Russia to return to the G7 and said Putin 'outsmarted' Obama over Crimea
“President Putin outsmarted President Obama. ... I think it would be better to have Russia inside the tent than outside the tent.”
- Said
- , News conference with President Emmanuel Macron, G7 summit, Biarritz, France
- Subject
- G7 readmission of Russia
- Type
- NATO and allies
- Topic
- Ukraine & Russia
- Era
- First term
What happened
Russia was suspended from the G8 in 2014 after it annexed Crimea from Ukraine. On August 20, 2019 Trump said in the Oval Office that it was "much more appropriate to have Russia in," and at the G7 summit in Biarritz on August 26 he said his inclination was that Russia should be in and attributed its exclusion to Obama having been outsmarted. European Council President Donald Tusk said on August 24, "Under no condition can we agree with this logic," and Germany, France and Britain rejected the idea that week, RFE/RL reported. A senior administration official told CNN that French President Emmanuel Macron had agreed with Trump by phone that Russia should be invited in 2020. PolitiFact rated Trump's account of the expulsion Mostly False, saying it ignored the decision by the other six members and that Crimea was taken from Ukraine.
Sources
- The President's News Conference With President Emmanuel Macron of France in Biarritz, France
- Remarks Prior to a Meeting With President Klaus Iohannis of Romania and an Exchange With Reporters
- Trump and Macron agree that Russia should be invited to next year's G7 conference, senior admin official says
- Tusk Says G7 Has More Reasons Than Ever To Keep Russia Out
- Donald Trump misleads on Russia, Crimea, Obama and the G-8