Under the administration of then-president Barack Obama, the decision was made to expel Russia from the Group of Eight (G8), arguing the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014. Despite this action, the mechanism of the G7, composed of the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States, continued to operate.
During a conversation with reporters in the Oval Office of the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed his desire for Russia to be part of the Group of Eight again. Trump called the decision led by Washington to exclude Russia a "mistake" and mentioned: "I suppose it was a mistake to expel them."
The G8, which used to include the Group of Seven (G7) along with Russia, ceased to exist in March 2014 following an initiative led by the United States. Trump mentioned that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin would be interested in returning to the group and pointed out: "Obama and a couple of others made a mistake and kicked Russia out. It's very possible that if Russia were still part of the G8, the problem with Ukraine wouldn't have occurred."
In this sense, Trump expressed that he would like Russia to return to the G8.
