President Trump departed Washington today to travel to Canada for the G-7 Summit. Before leaving, the president suggested to reporters at the White House that the world’s leading economies should reinstate Russia to the Group of seven nations, four years after it was cast out for annexing Crimea.
“Russia should be in this meeting,” the president said. “Whether you like it or not, and it may not be politically correct, but we have a world to run. They should let Russia come back in because we should have Russia at the negotiating table,” President Trump told reporters. Kremlin officials has no immediate comment. It has been reported, that the other members of the G-7, are unlikely to go along with the president’s suggestion.
Meanwhile, President Trump has skirmished with the leaders of Canada and France over trade. President Emmanuel Macron of France and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada both promised to confront Trump over recent decision to impose tariffs on U.S. allies. “Please tell Prime Minister Trudeau and President Macron that they are charging the U.S. massive tariffs and create non-monetary barriers,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “The EU trade surplus with the U.S. is $151 billion, and Canada keeps our farmers and others out,” the president wrote on Twitter.
The White House announced that President Trump will leave the G-7 summit before its conclusion. . He will depart the summit in Quebec Saturday morning and head directly to Singapore, the site of the June 12 meeting with North Korea Kim Jong Un.
The president will miss sessions focused on climate change, the oceans, and clean energy. He will also miss the traditional group photo with fellow heads of state and may also miss the opportunity to hold a summit-ending news conference, something world leaders traditionally do.
