Trump-led G7 Restructuring Controversy: "Both Europe and Russia Are Negative"

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing to expand the Group of Seven (G7), but Europe has opposed the issue of Russia's participation.

On the 2nd (local time), Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said, "Russia can return when it changes direction and a situation arises where meaningful discussions can be held again in the G8 (G7+Russia)," adding, "Currently, this is not the case."

Representative Borrell said, "The G7 chair country (this meeting is the U.S.) can invite guests or reflect the chair country's priorities in the invitation, which President Trump can do, but changing the membership or permanently altering the composition is not possible."

Canada also expressed opposition to Russia's re-entry into the G7.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Russia was originally a member of the G8 but was excluded from the G8 after the forced annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

Earlier, President Trump announced on the 30th of last month that he wanted to postpone the scheduled G7 meeting and invite South Korea, Australia, Russia, India, and others. In this process, President Trump proposed converting the G7 into a G11 or G12 (G11 plus Brazil), including South Korea and others.

Meanwhile, Russia, the subject of controversy, has shown a negative reaction to President Trump's proposed G7 restructuring. They argue that expanding the group without China is meaningless. Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said, "Everyone, including Russia, agreed with Trump's claim that the G7 system is outdated," adding, "No significant global plan can be realized without China." Zakharova also expressed the view that the broader G20 meeting is more appropriate than the G7 for discussing international cooperation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.