
Good is not spared: Japan has not ruled out Russia's return to the G7

Japan has not ruled out the scenario of Russia's return to the G7. This issue will be decided after the Ukrainian crisis is over, Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya told Izvestia. Earlier, US President Donald Trump proposed to restore the G8 format with the participation of the Russian Federation, which caused a strong reaction from Washington's allies. France, Germany and Canada were sharply opposed. However, Moscow itself has not shown interest so far. The Kremlin emphasized that against the backdrop of economic realities, the G20 format is much more promising. Whether to expect the return of the "G8" - in the material of "Izvestia".
Who is for and against Russia in the G8
Contacts between Russia and the United States under Donald Trump's administration continue to provoke strong reactions from the entire international community. While the countries of the Global South approve of American attempts at diplomacy, Washington's European allies express obvious dissatisfaction. Resentment is also provoked by Trump's recent statements regarding relations with Moscow. For example, the US president called it a mistake to exclude Russia from the G8 (the format that was called with the participation of the Russian Federation, now it is the G7) and generally stated that he would like to return Moscow to this international club.
The G8 ("G8") format was formed when Russia was invited to participate in the meetings of the G7 ("G7") in 1997, but in 2014, after the reunification of Crimea with Russia, it was suspended from the forum. Now the G7 includes Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The Kremlin has made it clear that returning to the G8 format is not in Moscow's interests yet, as the G7 has practically outdated itself. According to Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the economic realities in the world are better reflected by the G20 because the centers of growth have long since moved to other regions.
Late last year, Vladimir Putin pointed out the engagement of the current format. "Over the previous decades, everything seemed to look favorable outwardly: from the G7 they made the G8, well, thank you, we were invited. But do you know what happened? When you arrive at the same G8, it becomes clear that before the G8 meeting, the G7 had already gathered and discussed something among themselves, including with regard to Russia. And then they invite Russia," Putin said, speaking at a meeting of the Valdai Club.
Despite the fact that Moscow is not eager to join the G7, its members have already hurried to block all possible paths. German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock said that cooperation with Russia in this format is now impossible, and her French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot called Russia's return unthinkable. Canada was also strongly opposed to the issue, with the country's Foreign Minister Melanie Joly noting that she had discussed it with her colleagues. However, not all G7 participants were so categorical. The Secretary General of the Government of Japan Yoshimasa Hayashi declined the journalists' request to assess the statement of Donald Trump. And the foreign minister gave a slightly different, but very cautious comment.
- As far as I remember, the Russian foreign minister noted that Russia is not interested in the G7. The most important thing here is whether Russia can reach an agreement with the rest of the G7 members. Right now, all countries are watching to see how and whether Russia will end the Ukrainian conflict. We cannot decide what to do about returning to the G7 until the Ukrainian issue is resolved," Japanese diplomacy chief Takeshi Iwaya told Izvestia at the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Johannesburg.
If the Ukrainian crisis is resolved, Japan may indeed support Russia's return, according to Dmitry Suslov, Valdai expert and deputy director of the Central Committee for International Relations at the National Research University Higher School of Economics. According to the expert, Tokyo joined the anti-Russian sanctions not because of its support for Kiev, but because of concerns about China. European countries and Canada continue to be guided by caveman Russophobia.
A serious irritant for the EU is that Europe as a whole, including the UK, is essentially shut out of the foreign policy settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. The world clearly saw the preconditions for it following the results of the negotiations between Russia and the US in Riyadh on February 18. Brussels is painfully aware of the fact that progress in the settlement, albeit modest, is being made without their participation.
Can the G8 format return
Donald Trump has previously spoken out in favor of the return of the G8 format with Russia's participation. "A lot of the things we're talking about are about Putin. Let him be with us ... and everything will be done," he said during his first term as president. The Kremlin emphasized back in 2019 that changing the format to the G8 was not an end in itself, but the rhetoric was softer. At the time, Dmitry Peskov recalled Vladimir Putin's words that Russia does not refuse to communicate in any format.
Despite the fact that the geopolitical situation at the time was not as tense as it is now, some European leaders even then perceived Trump's initiative with hostility. Canada and Germany rejected the proposal, recalling the reasons for Russia's exclusion in 2014. The position of France and Italy is curious here. Emmanuel Macron reportedly supported the idea of the head of the White House in a telephone conversation in August 2019. The French president has always been characterized by greater loyalty to Moscow, even after the beginning of the Russian special operation. Unlike many Western colleagues, he continued contacts with Vladimir Putin for some time. However, Macron thus may have simply maintained the desired image of Europe's chief diplomat. At the time, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte also endorsed Donald Trump's initiative, saying that "it is in everyone's interest."
Incidentally, Trump then characterized the G7 as a "very outdated group of countries," which to some extent reflects Russia's current position. According to the US media, the Republican intended to include Washington's traditional allies, including the Five Eyes countries (an intelligence alliance that includes Australia and New Zealand in addition to the US, the UK and Canada).
Perhaps 5-6 years ago, the idea of Russia's re-joining the G7 might have been successful, but the world situation has changed dramatically. In particular, Russia's priorities related to the so-called "U-turn to the East" have changed.
- First, Russia does not perceive this group as an elite club, as many developing countries and major powers with which it is developing relations, such as China, India, and Indonesia, are not represented. For Russia, the G20 and BRICS are much more important, where these countries are. It will invest more here, because it will get reputational, political and strategic advantages from these platforms," Alexander Korolev, deputy director of the Center for the Study of International Relations at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, told Izvestia.
Moreover, there may be a conflict of interest. Moscow does not need a return to the G7 because this initiative by Trump is aimed at weakening the world majority. He is hostile to the BRICS, because it is this association that has become the most authoritative community advocating the formation of a multipolar world and a fair economic order, Dmitry Suslov pointed out. Recently, the American president repeated his threat to impose duties on goods from BRICS countries, going from 100% to 150%. He claims that the states of the association are trying to destroy the dollar. It is only true that the BRICS members want to get away from the excessive role of the U.S. currency in the economy against the backdrop of the current restrictions on trade.
- Trump believes it is better to break up BRICS. Russia is interested in normalizing relations with the US, but not at the cost of weakening partnership with the world majority," the expert said.
However, not everything is so categorical. In the future, Russia may still return to the G7, especially if relations with the United States gradually improve. In essence, this will mean the failure of the collective West's attempts to diplomatically isolate Russia, first of all, not even by the United States, but by the European Union countries, Korolev summarized.
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