US President Donald Trump on Wednesday doubled down on his calls to readmit Russia to the Group of Seven (G-7), arguing it would give him an opportunity to engage with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“You know we spent probably 25 percent of our time talking about Russia. And I said to myself ‘wouldn’t it be better if they were here,’” Trump said during an interview with Fox News’s Bret Baier.
“Now, I’m not for Russia. I’m for the United States,” he continued. “But, as an example, if Vladimir Putin were sitting next to me at a table instead of one of the others… I could say, ‘would you do me a favor and get out of Syria? Would you do me a favor, would you get out of Ukraine?'”
“If he were at that meeting, I could ask him to do things that are good for the world, that are good for our country that are good for him,” he added.
