Putin affirms Russia has never left the G8

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: TASS

On June 10, TASS reported that President Putin, at the end of his visit to China, spoke to the press, commenting on the proposal of some G7 leaders to bring Russia back to this group of countries.

Mr. Putin asserted that Moscow never left the G8, but that it was Russia's partners who refused to participate in a summit hosted by this country.

“As for Russia’s return to the G7, or the G8: we never left it. Our partners refused to come to Russia for reasons that are well known. However, we will be happy to meet everyone in Moscow,” Putin said.

Commenting on the comparison of the effectiveness of the G7 and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Putin agreed that in terms of purchasing power parity, the SCO member states have surpassed the G7 countries.

“If we count per capita, the G7 countries are richer, but the economies of the SCO countries are larger,” Putin asserted, adding that “the population of the SCO is also larger – it accounts for half of the world's population.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin also told reporters that the disagreements within the G7 group of countries did not need to be exaggerated. “It is not unusual and should be taken calmly, without any irony,” he said.

“Everything happens. If we look at the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), we also have debates and it is not for everyone to sign everything immediately,” Putin added.

According to President Putin, he did not have detailed information about the disagreements that emerged at the recent G7 summit. “It is certainly interesting because it involves the world’s largest economies,” the Russian leader commented, adding that “we can see some internal problems in it.”

Phu Binh