Trump Says He Would ‘Love’ to Have Russia Back in G7

US President Donald Trump said Thursday he would “love” to have Russia rejoin the G7, arguing that removing the country from the group in 2014 was a mistake. Russia was suspended from what was then the G8 after it invaded and illegally annexed Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula.

“I think it was a mistake to throw him out,” Trump said, referring to Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin. He blamed then-President Barack Obama for leading the decision to exclude Russia from the world’s top industrialized economies.

Russia originally joined the group after the fall of the Soviet Union as part of an effort to integrate it into the global economy.

During his first term, Trump had also pushed for Russia to be readmitted, but Western allies have largely rejected the idea.

On Wednesday, Trump spoke with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He later told reporters he believes Putin “wants peace” and said he “trusts” the Russian leader.

This comes despite a US Senate intelligence report that found Russian intelligence had interfered in the 2016 election to help Trump.

Trump’s stance on Russia has raised concerns in Europe, where many see Moscow as a major threat, particularly since its 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Trump also revealed that he expects to meet Putin separately in Saudi Arabia for Ukraine peace talks, a surprising shift in relations.

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European allies have warned Trump against negotiating a deal without them. Some have also criticized his administration for echoing Moscow’s stance on key issues, like rejecting Ukraine’s bid to join the NATO defensive alliance, which critics say might have prevented the current Russian invasion.

“I believe that’s the reason the war started,” Trump said, blaming his successor – Joe Biden – for supporting Ukraine’s NATO ambitions before Russia’s 2022 invasion. Biden did not support Ukraine’s entry into NATO in the near term, but was open to a future entry at a unspecified date.