Kremlin: It is pointless for Russia to attend G7 summit
The Russian Foreign Ministry believes that the Group of Seven (G7, which includes France, Germany, the UK, Italy, Canada, the US and Japan) has lost its significance as an instrument of global governance, since most important matters are resolved in other formats, for example at G20 summits, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told Interfax in an interview.
According to him, Moscow does not wish to return to the organization, and has not received an invitation to the next G7 summit from US President Donald Trump. In any event, Russia considers it pointless to take part in the summit.
“We have not received any invitations, and even to talk about it is, in my opinion, pointless. Such talk is irrelevant because, as I have already said, we have completely different priorities, and the Seven is not one of them,” Ryabkov said.
He pointed out that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have repeatedly stated that the G7 has lost its former significance.
“The fact that the leaders of the Seven meet, discuss something, make some statements, will not be ignored, but we will definitely not exaggerate the significance of it all,” Ryabkov added.
Russia was excluded from the Group of Eight in 2014 following its occupation of Ukraine’s Crimea and aggression in the Donbas. In 2014, G8 participants decided not to attend the summit in Sochi, and instead held the summit in Brussels without Russia. The Group of Eight thus became the Group of Seven.
In June 2018, Trump proposed that Russia be allowed back into this international club, but the group’s other members did not feel the same way. In August 2019, the US President once again advocated Russia’s return to the group.