According to reports by RT and the Associated Press, on June 16th local time, US President Trump said at the opening ceremony of the G7 Summit that excluding Russia from the G8 was a mistake.

On the same day, Trump met with Canadian Prime Minister Carney at the summit and said, "The G7 used to be the G8. It was former US President Obama and former Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau who expelled Russia from the G8."

"It was a very big mistake. If Russia had been in this group, there would be no war now. If I had been president four years ago, there would be no war now," Trump said.

On June 16th local time, Trump attended the official welcome ceremony of the G7 Summit in Canada. The Associated Press.

He also said that he maintained good communication with Russian President Putin, "Putin will talk to me, he doesn't talk to others. He felt very insulted about being expelled from the G8. I would feel the same way too."

Trump emphasized, "You spent so much time talking about Russia, but Putin is not at the negotiation table, which makes things more complicated."

In addition, when asked whether China should also join the G7, Trump replied, "That's a good idea. If someone wants China to join, I am not against it."

"What matters is that world leaders should have the opportunity to communicate at such summits," Trump added.

Since 1997, Russia has been a member of the G8. In 2014, due to the Crimea issue, Russia's membership was suspended, and the G8 returned to the G7.

Trump has repeatedly criticized the exclusion of Russia from the G7 during his first term and proposed the idea of rejoining Russia. However, this proposal was rejected by other members. In February this year, Trump once again stated that he "hopes" to see Russia return to the group.

In response to Trump's remarks, Kremlin spokesman Peskov responded in February that the G7 had "lost its representativeness" because it no longer reflected the current global economic dynamics. The G20 was "more representative of the engine of the world economy" because it included rapidly growing economies such as China, India, and Brazil.

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