The summits of the group looked like a crowd of “zombies” even a decade ago, the former Russian president has said
The G7 has long lost its relevance and cannot provide a sufficient answer to existing challenges, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said. He also praised US President Donald Trump’s conduct at the latest summit of the group in Canada and his decision to leave early.
“Well Done!” Medvedev wrote in an X post on Tuesday, referring to the American’ president’s actions during the meeting. Trump “scolded” the European members of the group “for kicking out Russia, refused to discuss sanctions, and left,” he said.
During the meeting, Trump stated that removing Russia from the group that was called G8 at the time was a mistake, arguing that the nation’s presence could have helped prevent the Ukraine conflict.
“You spend so much time talking about Russia, and [Russian President Vladimir Putin is] no longer at the table,” Trump told the meeting, arguing that it only “makes life more complicated.”
The US president left the event early, despite having a scheduled meeting with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, to address the escalation between Israel and Iran, according to the White House. Trump was also skeptical about EU and UK calls for more sanctions against Russia.
“Sanctions cost us a lot of money,” he argued, adding that he would like the EU to “do it first.”
Medvedev, who currently serves as deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council, stated that it “has long been clear [the G7] is a dead club.” The former president recalled when he himself took part in the then G8 summits between 2008 and 2012, arguing that the other participants “were all zombies, even then.”
Trump has repeatedly stated he would “love” to see Russia back in the group.
The Kremlin said in February that the G7 had “lost its relevance” as it no longer reflects current global economic dynamics. The G20 is a more representative format that includes fast-growing economies like China, India, and Brazil, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said then, calling it a group that “reflects the economic locomotives of the world.”
Dating back to the 1970s, the G7 includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the US and the UK. Russia was a member of the group between 1998 and 2014. The G20 includes 19 of the world’s biggest economies, as well as the EU and the African Union. It was first formed in 1999 but only started convening annually a decade later.
