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.
Under no condition can we agree with this logic.
When it comes to the speculations around inviting Russia to the table, I would like to say this.
First, the reasons why Russia was disinvited in 2014 are still valid.
What is more, there are new reasons, such as the Russian provocations on the Asus Sea.
Second, when Russia was invited to G7 for the first time, it was believed that it would
fuel the path of liberal democracy, rule of law and human rights.
Is there anyone among us who can say with full conviction – not out of business calculation
– that Russia is on that path?
Today I will try to convince my interlocutors that it would be better to invite Ukraine,
as a guest of course, to the next G7 meeting, to hear the opinion of the new president.
I talked with him about it two days ago and I know he would be very interested.
This is Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, wasting no time in condemning Trump’s
misguided idea to let Russia back into the G7.
Tusk, who, as president of the European Council represents the EU’s 28 member states, was
responding to Trump’s comment only days ago suggesting Russia be readmitted—
It’s come up should be put Russia back in.
We spend a lot of time talking abut Russia at those meetings and they’re not there.
I think it would be a good thing if Russia were there.
So we can speak directly, not have to speak by telephone and other things.
I think Russi should be a part of it because we’re looking for world peace and other
things—trade and other things.
And it would be a lot easier to have Russia in where they have always been.
Because nothing quite says, “we’re looking for world peace” like rewarding a country
that is actively attacking us.
And while Trump is falling over himself to absolve Russia, not only of invading Crimea
but interfering in our OWN election, Tusk explained that there’s no possible reason
to warrant Russia’s readmission given that nothing’s changed—that Russia’s still
laying claim to their illegal annexation of Crimea.
But Tusk then went a step further, suggesting that Ukraine – not Russia – come to the
G7 next year as a guest, in a show of solidarity with yet another victim of Russian aggression.
And that puts the disconnect between Trump and the rest of the G7 nations on full display,
since not only did Trump refuse to condemn Russia for its invasion of the Ukraine, but
suggested that the Crimeans actually welcomed the invasion or that because many speak Russian,
that the peninsula then belongs to Russia.
To be clear, this is the president of the world’s biggest democracy rationalizing
a hostile foreign takeover of part of a sovereign nation.
Although I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that this is coming from the same guy who
threw a fit on the White House lawn because the prime minister of Denmark told him no,
you can’t …have Greenland.
But look, Trump refusing to stand up to Vladimir Putin is nothing new.
Trump’s entire presidency has been marred by the fact that his campaign cooperated with
Russian officials interfering in our election.
Because despite the fact that Trump tried on a daily basis to will into existence the
idea that his campaign never colluded with Russia, that couldn’t be further from the
truth.
Don Jr, Manafort and Kushner met with a Kremlin-linked lawyer in Trump Tower after they’d been
promised dirt on Hillary Clinton.
Paul Manafort shared polling data with Konstantin Kilimnik, who has ties to Russian intelligence.
Trump’s national security adviser Michael Flynn discussed lifting sanctions on Russia
which, coincidentally, were imposed BECAUSE of Russia’s invasion of Crimea.
And then there was that one other pesky little thing, where Trump asked Russia on national
television to hack Hillary Clinton’s emails—
Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing.
I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.
And then hours later they began doing just that.
In fact, Robert Mueller and US intelligence have said that Russia is STILL planning on
interfering in our election in 2020, while Republicans in Congress – under the leadership
of Mitch McConnell – are refusing to allocate funding to beef up election security.
Almost like, by doing nothing, they stand to gain from all this.
But while Russian interference is and was clearly illegal, clearly cause for alarm,
because it’s to benefit TRUMP and HIS campaign, he wouldn’t dare speak out, because he doesn’t
value what’s moral or just, he values loyalty.
That’s it.
The point is that it’s the European Union that has to lead on the issues that the United
States once led on.
From international diplomacy to election security to military activity, Trump has entirely ceded
America’s leadership to the EU.
And frankly, we’re luckily that in a world where authoritarians seem to be gaining power,
that the European Union still has leaders whose decisions aren’t tainted by their
own desperation to hold onto power, who value people over money, who can still tell the
obvious difference between right and wrong.
Trump might think that the saying the inconvenience of making a phone call is enough to warrant
Russia’s readmission to the G7, but luckily, the G7 leaders aren’t as willing to bend
to Trump’s every whim as Republicans in the United States.