Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other top Democrats wrote to President Trump Tuesday objecting to his desire to invite Russia to rejoin the Group of Seven industrialized countries.
The New York Democrat, along with Democratic Sens. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, and Mark Warner of Virginia, told Trump that Russia “does not currently possess the democratic institutions nor the economic capacity to rejoin the Group, and the Putin regime’s actions since its expulsion in 2014 demonstrate that the Russian government is not prepared to productively contribute to the efforts of the G7.”
Russia was kicked out of the G-8 after invading and annexing Crimea in violation of international agreements.
Senate Democrats pointed to more recent behavior to make the case that Russian President Vladimir Putin does not deserve a seat in the group, including Russian meddling in U.S. elections, the 2018 chemical weapons attacks on a former Russian double agent in Salisbury, England, support of the Maduro regime in Venezuela and the Assad regime in Syria, and the persecution of minority groups and political adversaries in Russia.
“For these reasons, under no circumstances should President Putin be invited to participate in the G7 until the Russian government undertakes demonstrable actions to show its willingness to behave responsibly both domestically and abroad,” the Democrats wrote to Trump.
Trump said “it’s certainly possible” he will invite Putin to the G-7 summit the United States will host next year. Trump discussed the matter at the G-7 summit with fellow leaders from Japan, France, Italy, Canada, Britain, and Germany.
