US President Donald Trump kicked off his time at the Group of Seven summit on Monday by suggesting that Russia and maybe China should be part of the organization, AP reported on Tuesday.
Trump asserted that it was a “very big mistake” to remove Russia in 2014, a move that precipitated the Russia-Ukraine conflict that broke out in 2022, per the media report.
“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.”
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,” AP reported.
The US president added that 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.
Trump is leaving the G7 summit a day early, citing the situation in the Middle East, US media reported on Monday, quoting the White House. “Much was accomplished, but because of what’s going on in the Middle East, President Trump will be leaving tonight after dinner with Heads of State,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on X.
Global Times
