Merkel expressed a “general opinion” about Russia’s return to the G7

The conditions necessary for Russia's return to the G7 have not yet been met. This was reported by Reuters with reference to a statement by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

“We all agreed that Russia's return to the G7 summits will not happen until there is substantial progress on the Ukraine issue,” Merkel said.

The chancellor also stressed that this is the "general opinion" of the G7 member countries.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump said that Russia should participate in the G7 summit. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, commenting on Trump's statement, said that Russia "is focusing on other formats."

Russia was admitted to the G7 in the 1990s, after which the association changed its name to the G8. Russia was excluded from the G8 after the annexation of Crimea in 2014.