Russia wants to see tangible proposal on return to G-7

Russia wants to see a tangible proposal before considering a return to the Group of Seven (G-7) major economies, Reuters reported Wednesday.

“It’s hard to understand what this is about right now,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, according the news agency, which cited Interfax news.

{mosads}“Therefore, it is necessary to move the discussion of this topic from the sphere of public entertainment to the professional one if the Group of Seven wants to position itself as a serious format.”

Zakharova’s call for clarification comes after President Trump revived his idea that Russia should be reinstated into the group.

“We talk about Russia because I’ve been to numerous G-7 meetings,” Trump told reporters while meeting in the Oval Office with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday.

“I think it’s much more appropriate to have Russia in,” he added.

Russia was removed from what was then the G-8 over its annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

Trump’s comments come days before he is set to travel to France for the annual G-7 meeting and could stoke tensions with other leaders from France, Italy, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan and Germany, the other members.