Global community should not allow Russia to return to G7 – Zelensky

“Justin Trudeau said that there is no chance for Russia to return to the G7 until the full restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and we are grateful for that support – and I should say that there will be no resolution if the world doesn’t keep the pressure on Russia in that regard,” he noted.

Speaking in the interview, Zelensky said that while he was committed to seeking peace with Vladimir Putin’s Russia – an effort he called “most tricky and difficult” – Ukraine needed its international allies to hold firm during those negotiations.

Russia was expelled from the G7 (formerly the G8) over its 2014 annexation of Crimea, as well as Moscow’s support for separatist fighters in eastern Ukraine.

U.S. President Donald Trump, the host of the next G7 meeting in September, said last month that he will invite Russia, as well as India, South Korea and Australia, to a gathering focused on the question of how to deal with China.

While welcoming other countries to attend the September meeting is Mr. Trump’s prerogative as host, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson have both said Russia won’t be allowed to rejoin the G7 before Ukraine gets its land back.

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