Trump Consulted with Macron on Inviting Russia to G7 Summit in 2020 in U.S.

Aug. 21, 2019 (EIRNS)—According to CNN reporter Kylie Atwood, citing a source in the Trump Administration, President Donald Trump agreed with French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to the G7 summit in 2020 which will take place in the United States.  Trump is expected to raise this issue at the Aug. 24-26 G7 summit in Biarritz, on France’s Bay of Biscay.

“Trump & Macron spoke over the phone today & agreed they wanted to invite Russia to the G7 next year, a sr admin official said. Trump is expected to broach the topic w/ world leaders at the G7,” Atwood wrote on her Twitter account, and stating that it was Macron’s initiative to invite Russia.

Commenting on the proposal for Russia to rejoin the G8 Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told TASS, “Initiatives need to be outlined and handed over to Russia for consideration. At the moment, it is hard to understand what it is all about, so if the G7 wants to position itself as a serious platform, the discussion should be moved from the media field to the expert level.”

Also commenting on the proposal, Chairman of the State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee Leonid Slutsky echoed President Putin’s earlier remarks, telling TASS today, “We are not rejecting any kind of formats, but returning to the G8 is not a goal in and of itself.”

“If Russia indeed receives an invitation to take part in the 2020 summit, it should build on the specific agenda and how equal rights for all parties will be guaranteed. All that should not boil down to some ceremonial actions amid the aggressive anti-Russian policy of sanctions pursued by the G7,” Slutsky emphasized.

He pointed out that after Russia left the G8, other multilateral forms, such as BRICS and the G20,

“where Moscow plays a substantial role,” began developing more intensively. “Trump’s idea to revive the G8 proves once again that Russia plays an important role on the global stage.... The G7’s steps aimed at containing and isolating Russia failed to yield any results. Both the U.S. and French Presidents recognize that,”

he said.