Ukraine reminds global community there are no grounds for Russia’s return to G7

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Kateryna Zelenko said this in comments to Ukrinform.

"Since the issue of Ukraine is on the agenda of the G7 summit in the French city of Biarritz, we worked at all levels in key capitals of the world, informing partners about the lack of any progress in Russia's position regarding the end of aggression against Ukraine," Zelenko noted.

In this context, she recalls that Russia was expelled from the G8 because of the beginning of the aggression against Ukraine and the occupation of Ukrainian territories.

"And you already see the first reaction of partners: the return of Russia to the Group of Eight is possible only if the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine is restored within the framework of internationally recognized borders. This was noted by the President of Ukraine. Our international partners support this position," Zelenko emphasized.

At the same time, she states that there are no signals that Russia is ready for any action in this direction – only in the past few weeks Ukraine lost eight soldiers as a result of the enemy shelling; Crimea remains occupied; more than 100 Ukrainians are illegally detained as political prisoners by Russia; and passportization of Donbas continues.

According to the diplomat, recent statements by the leaders of the Federal Republic of Germany, Great Britain and other states have shown that they are clearly aware of the possible consequences and threats of concessions to the Kremlin.

As reported, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that he wants Russia back at the Group of Seven summits of the world's leading economies, even though it still controls Ukraine's Crimean peninsula.

At the same time, Germany and Britain opposed the return of Russia to the G7.

The Russian Federation was expelled from the old G8 format after it had annexed the Ukrainian Crimea in 2014 and all other members of the group – the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the USA – imposed sanctions against Moscow.

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