US President Donald Trump, in an interview with Axios upon returning from the G7 summit in France, said that Russia should not have been excluded from this club of leaders who previously met in the G8 format. According to the head of the White House, keeping the Russian Federation in the G8 would allow avoiding the Ukrainian conflict.
The G7 summit with the participation of the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Great Britain, Japan, the United States and Canada was held on June 15-17 in the French city of Evian-les-Bains on the shores of Lake Geneva. President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky was invited by the organizers as a partner of the association. In the final communiqué, the leaders emphasized that they “remain united in their unwavering support for Ukraine” and plan, among other things, to “increase supplies” of air defense systems and long-range weapons.
Trump, in an interview with journalist Mark Caputo, emphasized that he considers the exclusion of Russian President Vladimir Putin from the G8 club in 2014 against the background of the situation with Crimea as one of the factors in the development of the Ukrainian conflict.
“I’ve been on a lot of G7s that used to be G8s. They should have left the G8, and then it might not have started [конфликт] between Russia and Ukraine. However [44-й президент Барак] “Obama didn't want Putin there, and maybe a couple other leaders with him,” Trump said.
Trump did not answer the additional question about which leader he likes better, Putin or Zelensky. Instead, he told the story of his first administration's transfer of Javelin anti-tank missile systems to Kyiv. According to Trump, the Ukrainian military used them against Russian tanks “stuck in the mud.” He has told this story before, including at a meeting with Zelensky in February 2025, which ended in a public quarrel between the two presidents.
Trump in the interview also spoke on the topics of Iran, Venezuela and Cuba, noting that he does not rule out resolving conflicts with the latter country by military means. He stressed that the island’s authorities are ready for negotiations, which are being conducted by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has Cuban roots, on the US side.
In the context of Iran, Trump once again criticized Barack Obama for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) signed during his presidency on the Iranian nuclear program. Trump withdrew from the agreement, which included Russia, during his first term.
According to the head of the White House, his attempts to conclude a new deal with Iran are criticized by “hardliners”, and if he listened to them, it would have a negative impact on the economy. He did not specify who exactly he meant, but said that he had “lost respect” for these people.
“If I had gone further, the securities market would have dropped much lower, judge for yourself. I have one desire as a president in relation to people – not to become a great deceased [31-м президентом] Herbert Hoover. Such things could cause a worldwide depression,” Trump said.
As RTVI.US wrote, Trump remotely signed a memorandum on the cessation of hostilities with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian at the G7 summit, but meetings between representatives of the two countries in Switzerland scheduled for Friday, June 19, were cancelled. The memorandum provides a 60-day period for the continuation of negotiations between the United States and Iran on the Iranian nuclear program.
