Here we go again. A month after Donald Trump talked about Russia once again attending the G7 assembly of powerful states, Germany’s foreign minister has ruled it out. Meanwhile, nobody seems to be listening to what Moscow thinks.
At this point, it’s become like parents trying to punish a child by denying them what they think is a favorite toy, without realizing that the kid has already moved on to a new plaything.
Despite Russia’s foreign ministry and the Kremlin repeatedly pointing out that Moscow is not enthusiastic about restoring the G8, Western members of the club continue to cross swords about whether Russia should be brought back. None seem to have consulted the Kremlin about whether it even wants to rejoin the group.
In June, US President Donald Trump told Fox News Radio that it is “common sense” to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to an expanded G7 summit. This caused ructions in American liberal media and among some commenters in other member states of the bloc.
Now, the latest to intervene is Germany’s foreign minister. On Monday morning German state media Deutsche Welle reported "Germany has rejected a proposal floated by US President Donald Trump to allow Russia back into the Group of Seven (G7) most advanced economies, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said, in an interview published Monday."
All these comments generate big headlines around the world. But there’s one major problem: Russia clearly isn’t as interested in the topic as the other members of the erstwhile G8. That setup was suspended in 2014 when Western countries refused to come to Sochi for a planned summit. At the time, the stated reason was objections to Russia's reabsorption of Crimea, following the Kiev Maidan and the subsequent referendum on the peninsula. The US, and its allies, still recognize Ukrainian sovereignty over the territory and regard the vote as illegitimate.
On Monday afternoon Putin’s spokesman made a point of once again clarifying Moscow’s position. Dmitry Peskov said the Russian President “has never come forward with initiatives, appeals or actions” regarding Russia being readmitted.
Full report:
Comments
Post a Comment