Trump blames Trudeau and Obama for G8 decision fallout
US President Donald Trump accused former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of contributing to Russia's expulsion from the G8 group, which - according to Trump - led to conflict. However, the pressure to remove Russia from the G8 was exerted by former Canadian Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Canadian media highlighted Trump's remark on Wednesday during an event related to the World Cup. Trump said on Tuesday that Trudeau and former US President Barack Obama "didn't like" Russia's presence in the G8.
"I thought it was a very bad decision. It was headed by Trudeau, by the way, and Obama, they were the ones that really fought hard to get Russia out… and because of that maybe millions of people are dying," said Trump as quoted by the public broadcaster CBC.
This explanation for the reasons behind the invasion of Ukraine is new in the media landscape. Until now, the narrative of Russia's exclusion from the G8 in relation to Putin's military actions had not even been presented by the Kremlin.
Russia was excluded from the G8 group after the invasion of Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea in 2014. In the current G7 format, the members are France, Japan, Canada, Germany, the USA, the United Kingdom, and Italy. From 1997 to 2014, the group included Russia and was known as the G8.
In 2014, Canada’s Prime Minister was Harper. During a visit to Ukraine in March 2014, Harper declared that he wanted Russia removed from the G8 because of the annexation of Crimea. He also criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin for violating the provisions of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, in which Russia guaranteed Ukraine's territorial integrity in exchange for Ukraine's relinquishing of nuclear weapons.
Summit without Russia
At the end of March 2014, France, Japan, Canada, Germany, the USA, the United Kingdom, and Italy organized their own summit in Brussels, without Russia's participation. In the declaration adopted, they confirmed their support for Ukraine, condemned Russia, and suspended G8 activities.
In June 2020, Trump, during his previous term, suggested inviting Russia to the autumn G7 meeting. Trudeau, who was then the Prime Minister of Canada, publicly recalled the reasons for Russia's exclusion from the G8.
