MOSCOW (dpa-AFX) – According to information from Moscow, there have so far been no concrete negotiations on Russia’s participation in a possibly expanded G7 summit in autumn. “We have not had any talks of this kind, and we are not having them,” said Russian Vice Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov in Moscow on Saturday. Earlier, the US embassy in Moscow, John Sullivan, said in an interview that Washington is already in contact with the Russian State Department and other governments.
US president Donald Trump is hosting this year’s summit of seven industrialized countries, which was actually planned for June. He had suggested that Russia and other countries be invited to the fall replacement date. Russia was excluded from the group in 2014 after the annexation of the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula Crimea. The United States and the EU also introduced sanctions that are still in force today.
The format of the G7 is outdated anyway, said diplomat Ryabkov of the Tass agency. There are more promising and attractive rounds. In any case, China must also sit at the negotiating table. “Without China, it is impossible to discuss any question in the modern world.” / Thc / DP / men
