 "Donald Trump gestures during a bilateral meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin. File image/ Reuters")
US President Donald Trump wants G7 to become G8 — and possibly G9
While attending the G7 Summit in Canada’s Kananaskis, Trump said that he would prefer Russia and China to be the new members of the bloc.
During 1997-2014, the bloc was known was G8 and Russia was a member. Russia was expelled from the bloc in 2014 after it invaded Ukraine and annexed Crimea.
In the latest instance of batting for Russian leader Vladimir Putin and justifying the second invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Trump said that the invasion would have never happened if the bloc had not expelled Russia. He blamed former President Barak Obama and former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for it.
“The G7 used to be the G8. Barack Obama and a person named Trudeau didn’t want to have Russia in. And I would say that there was a mistake because 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. It didn’t work out that way, but it used to be the G8,” said Trump.
In dual irony, Trudeau became the Prime Minister of Canada in 2015 and Russia was expelled from the bloc in 2014. Moreover, while Trump said that Putin would not have invaded Ukraine if Russia were still in the bloc, the country had already invaded Ukraine while it was part of the bloc! The expulsion was a consequence —not a precursor— of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014.
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Trump went on to say that Putin “was very insulted when he got thrown out of the G8 as I would be, as you would be, as anybody would be as very insulted”.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsEven as those in his orbit have described China as the primary concern of the administration, Trump batted for China’s inclusion in the bloc as well. He said that “it’s not a bad idea” to have China in the bloc.
“If somebody wants to suggest China coming in, I think we suggest that you want to have people that you can talk to,” said Trump.
The G7 is a group of seven industrialised countries that was formed in 1975. It was initially G6 with six founding members: the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany (then-West Germany), Italy, and Japan. It became G7 when Canada joined in 1976. Russia joined the bloc in 1997 and it became G8. The European Union (EU) has been a ’non-enumerated member’ member and permanent guest since 1977 and has had all privileges of a member-state except for the right to host or chair the summit.