The Chancellor of Germany rejected the idea of Russia returning to the G8 format, supported only by the USA, emphasizing the lack of consensus among the other G7 members.
At a press conference after the G20 summit in Johannesburg, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that Russia cannot return to the “Group of Eight” format, despite the presence of such a point in the US President Donald Trump’s “peace plan.” He stressed that the decision is made based on the consensus of all G7 members, and currently only the USA supports this issue.
Merz added that most G7 member states are not ready to accept Russia back into this group, and this topic is not on the agenda at the moment. The Chancellor was supported by French President Emmanuel Macron, who also noted the lack of grounds for restoring Russia’s membership.
It should be reminded that the “Group of Seven” (G7) is an association of governments of the most economically developed countries in the world: the USA, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Canada. Until 2014, Russia was part of this group, but it was excluded after the annexation of Crimea. The US “peace plan,” developed with the participation of Russian representatives, includes 28 points, among which is the return of Russia to the G8. However, according to the European counter-proposal, Russia must compensate for the restoration of Ukraine for this.
