Russian President Vladimir Putin called the G7 a “club of interests” and said that Moscow has no relations with the G7. According to him, the countries of the association did not need Moscow’s alternative point of view

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is on a visit to Italy, said that Russia has no relations with the G7. The head of state called the G7 a “club of interests” and explained that an alternative point of view was not in demand in the association, an RBC correspondent reports.

“As for relations with the Seven, we do not have any relations with the Seven. When they worked, they took part. It seemed to me that there was some sense in this, because we represented an alternative point of view,” Putin said. According to him, the G7 countries decided that they did not need this point of view.

“This is not an organization, it’s just a club of interests,” Putin noted. “But we wish them success.”

The President recalled that “there are also broader formats, such as the G20.” “We work in the BRICS format. There is another format - the SCO,” the Russian leader pointed out. The Russian President also noted that Moscow is ready to develop bilateral relations with the G7 countries if they want it.

Putin said that at the meeting with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, it was not the lifting of sanctions that was discussed, but their impact on joint projects. “We talked about sanctions, but very mundanely. Not in terms of cancellation. And they talked about how they interfere with the development of joint projects. It seems to me that we should not refuse mutually beneficial contracts. Italian companies lost €1 billion due to sanctions,” the president noted. “I hope that sooner or later we will get away from the restrictions that we face today,” Putin added.

On June 8, presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that “it is impossible for seven or eight of us to gather and effectively discuss world problems.” Commenting on the results of the G7 summit in Germany, Peskov noted that the statements of the summit participants regarding anti-Russian sanctions do not contain new theses.

Russia has not taken part in the G7 summit since 2014.

In early June, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced Moscow’s lack of interest in returning to the G8 format. Deputy head of the department Sergei Ryabkov noted that “it was not Russia that left the G8,” but it was our colleagues who left the Russian presidency of the G8. According to him, the G8 format has not always been productive, and Russia is more interested in working in the BRICS and G20 formats.

Representatives of the G7 countries opposed Russia's return to the G8. In particular, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called such a step “unthinkable” in the current conditions. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has ruled out the possibility of Russia returning to the G7 as long as Vladimir Putin remains the country's president.