President Donald Trump says Russia should be reinstated to the Group of Seven, going against the other countries that ousted Russia in 2014 after its annexation of Crimea. </s> Trump calls for Russia, ousted from group of leading industrial nations after annexing Crimea, to be reinstated

WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump calls for Russia, ousted from group of leading industrial nations after annexing Crimea, to be reinstated. </s> President Trump on Saturday doubled down on his calls for Russia to be reinstated to the G-7 group of nations, saying that the group would be more meaningful if that country could be brought back into the fold.

“I would rather see Russia in the G-8, as opposed to the G-7. I would say that the G-8 is a more meaningful group than the G-7, absolutely,” he told reporters as he left the summit in Canada.

He later said that Russia’s return to the group would be “an asset” and that it would be a good move for peace in the world.

“We’re not looking to play games,” he said.

Trump said Friday that Russia should be a part of the talks — a move that was likely to find little agreement among the group. Russia was expelled from the group — which now includes France, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S. — following its annexation of Crimea in 2014.

When Trump was pressed about the annexation of Crimea, he placed the blame on President Barack Obama for failing to handle the situation.

“He was the one who let Crimea get away — that was during his administration,” he said, adding, “Crimea was let go during the Obama administration and Obama can say all he wants, but he allowed Russia to take Crimea. I may have had a much different attitude.”

Trump’s call for Russia to be included did gain some support, however, in the form of new populist Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, who tweeted that it was “in the interests of everyone” for Russia to be included once again.

Trump also told reporters Saturday that he has not spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin in some time.

Russia remains a thorny topic in the U.S., where investigators have been looking into how it may have sought to influence the 2016 election.

Fox News’ Brooke Singman and The Associated Press contributed to this report. </s> (CNN) President Donald Trump on Saturday doubled down on his call for Russia to be readmitted into the G7 and blamed his predecessor for Russia's aggression in Crimea.

"I think it would be an asset to have Russia back in," Trump said during an impromptu press conference at the summit. "I think it would be good for the world. I think it would be good for Russia. I think it would be good the United States. I think it would be good for all of the countries of the current G7. I think the G8 would be better."

Russia was suspended from the group -- then known as the G8 -- in 2014 after the majority of member countries allied against its annexation of Crimea. It was the first violation of a European country's borders since World War II.

Trump suggested that Russia be allowed back into the global group despite their continued occupation of Crimea.

"I would say that the G8 is a more meaningful group than the G7, absolutely," Trump said. He also blamed former US President Barack Obama for Russia's move into that nation.

Read More </s> United States President, Donald Trump, has called for an end to Russian expulsion from the Group of Seven leading economies in the world.The President had, on the South Lawn of the White House on Friday, made a case for Russia’s readmission into G-8, which became G-7 following the annexation of Crimea.Russia was expelled from the G-7 four years ago following its role in the Crimean crisis.Washington Post quotes Trump as saying that Russia should be readmitted to the G-7, thereby breaking with other world leaders who have insisted that Moscow remain ostracized following its involvement in the 2014 Crimean crisis.“Now, I love our country. I have been Russia’s worst nightmare … But with that being said, Russia should be in this meeting,” Trump said as he left the White House.“It may not be politically correct, but we have a world to run. … They should let Russia back in,” he added.Trump had tweeted that he was heading to Canada for the annual G-7 summit, where he also hopes to hold talks that will mostly center on the “long time unfair trade practised against the United States.”He said that from there, he would go to Singapore and hold talks with North Korea on Denuclearization.“Won’t be talking about the Russian Witch Hunt Hoax for a while!” he had promised; while informing that he looked forward to straightening out unfair trade deals with the G-7 countries, and that, “if it doesn’t happen, we come out even better!” </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday suddenly canceled a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin scheduled for this week’s Group of 20 industrialized nations summit in Argentina, citing the current Ukraine crisis.

“Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin. I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved!” Trump tweeted after departing for the G20 summit.

Trump’s tweet was a sudden turnaround. Roughly an hour earlier, he had told reporters he would probably meet with Putin at the summit and said it was “a very good time to have the meeting.”

But Trump had also said he would get a final report during the flight to Argentina on the tension in the region after Russia seized Ukrainian vessels near Crimea on Sunday.

Differences over Ukraine, as well as Moscow’s role in the civil war in Syria, have been an irritant in U.S.-Russian relations for years.

The administration of former President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on Russia for its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. That in part brought ties between Washington and Moscow to their lowest point since the end of the Cold War.

Since then, the United States has investigated Russia’s possible interference in the 2016 presidential election that Trump won. Russia has denied meddling and Trump has repeatedly said there was no collusion. </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday suddenly canceled a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin scheduled for this week's Group of 20 industrialized nations summit in Argentina, citing the current Ukraine crisis.

"Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin. I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved!" Trump tweeted after departing for the G20 summit.

Trump's tweet was a sudden turnaround. Roughly an hour earlier, he had told reporters he would probably meet with Putin at the summit and said it was "a very good time to have the meeting."

But Trump had also said he would get a final report during the flight to Argentina on the tension in the region after Russia seized Ukrainian vessels near Crimea on Sunday.

Differences over Ukraine, as well as Moscow's role in the civil war in Syria, have been an irritant in U.S.-Russian relations for years.

The administration of former President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on Russia for its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. That in part brought ties between Washington and Moscow to their lowest point since the end of the Cold War.

Since then, the United States has investigated Russia's possible interference in the 2016 presidential election that Trump won. Russia has denied meddling and Trump has repeatedly said there was no collusion.

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. </s> • President Donald Trump reportedly derailed a major meeting with world leaders at the annual Group of Seven summit on Saturday evening after he insisted that Russia should be readmitted to the G7.
• Trump’s comments initiated a discussion at the dinner about “whether the leaders should assign any special weight to being a democracy,” The Washington Post reported. While most of the world leaders staunchly believed they should, Trump didn’t.
• “The consequence is the same as if one of the participants is a dictator,” an official told The Post. “No community of like-minded leaders who are pulling together.”
• Trump on Monday announced that he would invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to next year’s summit.
• Russia was expelled from the then-G8 in 2014 over its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, which violated international laws and agreements.

President Donald Trump derailed a major meeting with world leaders at the annual Group of Seven summit on Saturday evening after he insisted that Russia should be re-invited to the international gathering, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.

The president interrupted talks of the fires in the Amazon and Iran’s nuclear capacity by advocating for Russia to be readmitted to the gathering of industrialized nations at a dinner in Biarritz, France on Saturday night.

Russia was expelled from the then-G8 in 2014 over its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, which violated international laws and agreements.

Trump’s comments initiated a discussion at the dinner about “whether the leaders should assign any special weight to being a democracy,” The Post reported. While most of the world leaders staunchly believed they should, Trump didn’t.

A senior official at the meeting told The Post that Trump crossed his arms and appeared to take a more physically combative stance as multiple leaders rejected his comments.

“The consequence is the same as if one of the participants is a dictator,” an official told The Post. “No community of like-minded leaders who are pulling together.”

Read more: Trump is pushing to let Russia re-join the G7, and the White House claims that France approves

Trump may be able to bring Putin back to the G7 as next year’s host

Officials said that at least two of the leaders present, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Italy’s acting prime minister Giuseppe Conte, did not push back against Trump’s position.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson praised French President Emmanuel Macron’s performance at the dinner on Sunday morning. “You did very well there last night. My God, that was a difficult one,” Johnson said, according to The Post.

Trump on Monday announced that he would invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to next year’s summit.

“Would I invite him? I would certainly invite him,” he told reporters. “Whether or not he could come, psychologically, I think that’s a tough thing for him to do,” because Putin is “a proud person.”

The US will host next year’s G7 gathering, so Trump may have the power to unilaterally re-invite Putin to the meeting.

Read more: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Greta Thunberg want everyone to fly less to fight climate change. Germany and Sweden are already embracing the ‘flight shame’ movement.

Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and other leaders have made clear that they won’t consider supporting Russia’s readmittance unless the country helps promote peace in Ukraine.

“One year ago, in Canada, President Trump suggested reinviting Russia to the G-7, stating openly that Crimea’s annexation by Russia was partially justified. And that we should accept this fact. Under no condition can we agree with this logic,” European Council President Donald Tusk told reporters over the weekend.

The president argued last week that it doesn’t make sense to exclude Russia – and its leader President Vladimir Putin – from the gathering “because a lot of the things we talk about have to do with Russia.”

Trump hasn’t mentioned Crimea or suggested that Russia would need to make any concessions in order to rejoin the group as part of his recent push. Instead, Trump has repeatedly blamed President Barack Obama for being “outsmarted” by Russia and then demanding the country’s exclusion. </s> "Russia should be in this meeting," Trump told reporters upon leaving the White House for the summit, which is being held in Charlevoix, Canada. "They should let Russia come back in, because we should have Russia at the negotiating table."

Russia was suspended from the group -- then known as the G8 -- in 2014 after the majority of member countries allied against Russia's annexation of Crimea, which Russia continues to hold.

Asked in an interview earlier this week about what would need to happen for Russia to return Crimea to Ukraine, Putin told Austria's ORF broadcasting corporation that "there are no such conditions and there can never be."

Trump's comments come at a time when Trump is on the outs with other members of the G7. On Thursday, Trump engaged in a bitter back-and-forth with French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over Twitter, both of whom he'll meet face-to-face on Friday.

Trump is expecting a knock-down, drag-out fight with top US allies over trade during his time at the conference, held in remote Quebec. It's a battle he believes he can win, but which he's unenthusiastic about waging in person, people familiar with his thinking say. On Thursday, Macron said the leaders would not rule out a 6+1 communique as opposed to the traditional document signed by all leaders at the end of the summit with shared goals and principles.
Donald Trump again calls for Russia to be reinstated into the group. Russia was suspended after the annexation of Crimea in 2014.