Trump Requests That Russia Be Re-integrated Into G-7 Alliance

Trump wants Russia back in the G-7—to no one’s surprise. The president stated to the press:

Russia should be in this meeting. Why are we having a meeting without Russia being in the meeting? And I would recommend — and it’s up to them, but Russia should be in the meeting, it should be a part of it. You know, whether you like it or not, and it may not be politically correct, but we have a world to run and the G-7 — which used to be the G-8, they threw Russia out. They should let Russia come back in because we should have Russia at the negotiating table.”

During the 90s, Russia joined the union and the G-8 was created. But Russia was later expelled after conflict with Ukraine in 2014. This friendly offering for the country to be re-invited to the union is unusual for almost any politician; Democrats, Republicans, and European leaders have not shown much open support for Russia.

Trump did not explain his reasoning for why he wanted Russia back in the group, raising more concerns on the relationship between his administration and the Russians.

The upcoming G-7 meeting has followed weeks of tension between the U.S. and the other members, because of the U.S.’ decision to raise tariffs up to 25% for steel and 10% for aluminum to the E.U., Canada and Mexico. The G-7 allies stated that the U.S.’ decision “[undermines] open trade and confidence in the global economy.”

After this response, and some separate statements from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Trump responded aggressively on Twitter, remarking that these tariffs have only been created in response to unfair trade tariffs from those countries.

The president also used the opportunity to address his current statements about being able to pardon himself, which gained controversy. He stated:

I’m not above the law. I never want anybody to be above the law. But the pardons are a very positive thing for a president. I think you see the way I’m using them. And yes, I do have an absolute right to pardon myself. But I’ll never have to do it because I didn’t do anything wrong. And everybody knows it.”

Trump has not backed off from his claims and is not afraid of re-stating them. This has been supported by his team of attorneys, who have stated that the president technically can terminally stop any federal investigation, essentially leaving him unable to obstruct justice.

Featured Image via: Flickr/Number 10