BELIN - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be invited to attend the G7 summit of leading industrial nations in Bavaria this June.
In an interview published in the April 12 edition of Die Welt, Steinmeier was asked about calls from the leader of Germany’s Left party to invite Putin to summit to discuss international crises.
Steinmeier said it was not anyone’s interest to isolate Russia but he added after Russia’s illegal annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, “we cannot act as if nothing happened and carry on business as usual.”
Steinmeier said while it was desirable to have Russia involved in helping resolve crises in Syria, Yemen, and Libya the subject of including Moscow and renewing the G8 was a closed issue for now.
Steinmeier said: “The way back to the G8 will come through respecting the unity of Ukraine and implementing Russian obligations from the Minsk treaty.”
The leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States met last year without Putin, also in protest at Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
