UK, Canada not in favour of Russia’s return to G7

London, June 2

The UK and Canada have opposed Russia’s return to the G7, deepening a rift over US President Donald Trump’s wish for Moscow to rejoin the group of the world’s wealthiest nations.

On May 30, Trump announced that he was postponing the G7 leaders’ summit, adding that it was “outdated” and that he would like to see more countries, including India, Russia, Australia and South Korea added to the group. According to the Kremlin, Trump in a phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin told the latter of his plan to invite him to the summit. The White House confirmed the development, saying that making “progress toward convening the G7” with Russia was among the topics the leaders discussed in the phone call.

Russia was expelled from the group — previously known as the G8 — in 2014 in response to its annexation of Crimea, the BBC reported. But Trump’s invitation to Putin has drawn the ire of the UK and Canada, whose leaders have said that they would not support Russia’s re-admission to the group. — IANS