Senate

Schumer: ‘Appalling’ Trump would invite Putin to G-7

by Jordain Carney - 08/26/19 5:44 PM ET

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) knocked President Trump on Monday, saying it is “appalling” that he would invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to the next Group of Seven (G-7) meeting.

“As the United States takes on the responsibility of organizing and hosting the next G-7 summit, it is appalling that President Trump appears hell-bent on inviting Vladimir Putin back as Russia continues to forcibly occupy Crimea, interferes in our elections, and initiates a new arms race,” Schumer said in a statement on Monday.

“Allowing Russia back into the G-7 would only show President Trump’s weakness in the face of Putin and his oligarchs and make the United States less secure,” he added.

{mosads}His comments come after Trump said he would “certainly” invite Putin to the group’s meeting but added that “whether or not he could come psychologically, I think that’s a tough thing for him to do.”

Russia was expelled from the then-G-8 in 2014 over its annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. Trump has previously floated allowing Russia back into the group’s meetings, saying ahead of last year’s G-7 summit that “they should let Russia come back in because we should have Russia at the negotiating table.”

He added on Monday that he thought it would be better for Russia to be included because it would be “better to have Russia inside the tent than outside the tent.”

The United States will serve as host of next year’s annual gathering of world leaders. As head of the host nation, Trump can invite heads of state who are not part of the G-7.

Trump argued over the weekend that other world leaders indicated they would support letting Russia back into the group. But Donald Tusk, the head of the European Council, said Saturday that “under no condition” could G-7 nations allow Russia to return.

“One year ago, in Canada, President Trump suggested reinviting Russia to G7, stating openly that Crimea’s annexation by Russia was partially justified. And that we should accept this fact,” Tusk said, according to Reuters.

Trump’s comments on Russia were one of several controversies that emerged from the global strategy session. Trump also skipped a climate meeting, floated his Miami golf course as a possible location for next year’s meeting and lashed out at the media throughout the summit.

“This weekend’s G-7 summit was another missed opportunity for President Trump to show America’s strength by unifying key global partners to address the numerous challenges facing our planet,” Schumer added on Monday.

Tags Chuck Schumer Donald Trump Vladimir Putin