Germany Against Letting Russia Back into G7

The German side believes that Russia’s return to the G7 is impossible without resolving the conflict in Ukraine. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said that his country opposed the US leader Donald Trump’s push to return Russia to the Big Seven (G7). This was reported by the  Rheinische Post newspaper on Sunday, July 26. According to Maas, the reason for Russia’s exclusion from this format was the annexation of Crimea and the situation in eastern Ukraine. “As long as this issue is not resolved, I see no chance for inviting Russia,” the head of the German foreign affairs agency. Also, the German Foreign Minister said that he also did not agree with the proposal to invite other countries to the G7 summit. “We consider the G7 or G20 normal, but oppose the G11 or G12,” he stressed. The head of the German Foreign Ministry said that Germany maintains a position that Crimea is part of Ukraine. “We cannot just accept that in the 21st century, borders in Europe are changing,” Maas said. Maas added that Russia needs to “do a lot to reopen the doors.” The G7 summit this year was scheduled for June, but later the American president postponed it at least until September and said that he would like to hold this summit in an expanded format - with the participation of not only Russia, but also South Korea, Australia and India. Recall that US President Donald Trump commented on his initiative for the participation of the Russian Federation in the G7 meeting. In his opinion, inviting Russia to the G7 summit would help facilitate the solution of many problems.