US President Donald Trump on Monday slammed the Barack Obama and Justin Trudeau administration for excluding Russia from the G8 member nations which then became G7. Calling it a “serious mistake”, he added that if he would have been the president, there wouldn’t have been a Russia-Ukraine war. “The G7 used to be the G8. About nine years ago, Russia was excluded, something I believe was a serious mistake. Back then, leaders like Barack Obama and Justin Trudeau didn’t want Russia involved, but had Russia remained at the table, perhaps we wouldn’t be facing a war today. If I was the president 4 years ago, we would not have a war right now,” he said.The G7 temporarily became the G8 when Russia was included as a member, but the country was expelled in 2014 following its annexation of Crimea and initial incursion into Ukraine—developments that laid the groundwork for its full-scale invasion in 2022.Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a phone call on Saturday and the two agreed that the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel should come to an end.“President Putin called this morning to very nicely wish me a Happy Birthday, but to more importantly, talk about Iran, a country he knows very well,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “He feels, as do I, this war in Israel-Iran should end, to which I explained, his war should also end,” he added. The call also briefly touched on Russia’s war in Ukraine and ongoing prisoner exchanges. Trump noted that while Ukraine wasn’t the main focus of the call, they discussed upcoming exchanges and Putin’s interest in resuming peace talks after June 22.
