Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has spoken out about the international club "The Group of Seven" (G7 or Group of Seven) after US President Donald Trump's statement about the possible return of Russia to its membership.
He stated this during a speech at the congress of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.
At the event, he spoke about the impact of international sanctions, which hinders "normal trade" in the Russian Federation.
"Obviously, I have said this more than once: things will not be the same as before. We should not hope for complete freedom of trade, payments, and capital flows. We should not count on Western mechanisms for protecting the rights of investors and entrepreneurs. 28,595 sanctions have been imposed on Russian individuals and legal entities. This is more than all the sanctions against other countries. And much more," he said.
He also compared data on the GDP of the BRICS countries, which include Russia, and the G7.
"Last year, the GDP growth of the BRICS was 4.9%, and that of the G7 was 1.9%. Why is it (the Seven) big? What is big about it? No matter where you look, you can't see it on the map," Putin said.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump said that he would like Russia to return to the Group of Seven (G7) and called its exclusion a "mistake."
As you know, the international club previously consisted of eight countries and was called the "G8", Russia was excluded from it after the occupation of Crimea in 2014.
G7, literally the Group of Seven, is an international club of governments of seven highly developed countries of the world: the USA, Japan, Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy, Canada.
As Apostrophe wrote, US leader Donald Trump extended sanctions against Russia for another year due to its violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and threatened to tighten restrictions if Russia does not make peace.