BRUSSELS — The European Union on Tuesday joined a growing chorus of members of the Group of Seven major economic powers to insist that Russia must not be allowed back into the fold, after U.S. President Donald Trump said that he plans to invite the country to a G7 summit next fall. Trump said Saturday that he is postponing next month’s G7 summit, and plans to invite Russia, Australia, South Korea and India when it does take place. Trump told reporters that he feels the current makeup of the group is “very outdated” and doesn’t properly represent “what’s going on in the world.”The G7 members are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, while the 27-nation EU, the world’s biggest trading bloc, also takes part. Russia was suspended in 2014 from the then G8 following its invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that Russia should not be allowed back in until it “changes course and the environment allows for the G8 again to have a meaningful discussion, and this is not currently the case.”

Source: International New York Times June 02, 2020 12:22 UTC