20.08.2019 | Awkward moment Emmanuel Macron cringes as Vladimir Putin claims 'G7 doesn't exist'
Source - The Daily Express
The pair met at Emmanuel Macron's official holiday residence in Bregançon in southern France on Monday. The visit came days before world leaders, including US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Boris Johnson, gather for the August 24-26 Group of Seven (G7) summit in the southwestern French town of Biarritz. The French leader was keen to show Moscow it is not ostracised despite being kicked out of the G7 after its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. But as they took questions from reporters at a joint press conference, the Russian President was quick to dismiss the importance of the G7's existence.
President Putin said: “Now, on G7? Well, there is no G7.
“How can we go back to an organisation that doesn’t exist?
“Today is G7 but we cannot go back to G8 because G8 doesn’t exist.
“There is no G8. But we never say no.
“It was Russia’s turn to host the G8 and our partners didn’t come.
“Well, they are welcome anytime. Please, even as G7. But there are other international institutions that play a significant role in international affairs.
“Take the G20. You have big economic powerhouses like China, India and many others.
“They count for almost 90 percent of the global economy so we really value these full format platforms.
“And that’s why we actively cooperate.”
The French President appeared to be cringing at the obvious dig launched by the Russian leader over his exclusion to the international forum.
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