Trump wants Russia back in G7

Washington: President Trump called on the world's leading economies on Friday to reinstate Russia to the Group of 7 nations four years after it was cast out for annexing Crimea, once again putting him at odds with America's leading allies in Europe and Asia.

The President made the suggestion to reporters at the White House just before leaving for Canada to attend the annual meeting of the G-7, a gathering that already was promising to be crackling with tension over trade, Iran and Trump's sharp-edged approach to foreign leaders.

"Russia should be in this meeting," Trump said. "Why are we having a meeting without Russia being in the meeting? And I would recommend - and it's up to them, but Russia should be in the meeting, it should be a part of it. You know, whether you like it or not, and it may not be politically correct, but we have a world to run and the G-7 - which used to be the G-8, they threw Russia out. They should let Russia come back in because we should have Russia at the negotiating table."

Russia joined the group in the 1990s after emerging from the wreckage of the Soviet Union, making it the G-8, but its armed intervention in its neighbour Ukraine in 2014 and seizure of the Crimean peninsula angered other major powers. The remaining members, led by President Barack Obama, expelled it in a sign of global resolve not to let international borders be redrawn by force.

The notion of readmitting Russia to the world's most exclusive club reflected the unusually friendly approach that Trump has taken to Russia since becoming President, a policy at odds with both Republicans and Democrats in Washington as well as leaders in Europe.

Trump offered no specific reasoning for why Russia should be let back in even though it retains control of Crimea and has not lived up to an international agreement to end its intervention in eastern Ukraine. American intelligence agencies have concluded that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia personally authorised an operation to intervene in the 2016 American presidential election with the goal of helping Trump win.

Trump has heatedly denied any collusion with Russia, although his son, son-in-law and campaign chairman met Russians on the promise of receiving incriminating information about his opponent from the Russian government.

Trump spent Friday skirmishing with the leaders of Canada and France over trade and then abruptly announced that he would skip the end of the session in Quebec on Saturday.

Britain, Germany and other members of the G-7 were unlikely to go along with Trump's suggestion, but he won support from Italy. "I agree with President @realDonaldTrump: Russia should return to the G8," Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte wrote on Twitter in Italian.

"President Trump has placed himself on the wrong side: with the autocrats, the corrupt, and the anti-Americans, who look to Vladimir Putin as a natural ally," said Daniel Fried, a former career diplomat.

New York Times News Service