Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be in attendance when world leaders gather in France for the G7 summit this weekend.
Russia used to be a member of the international bloc when it was the G8. But Russia was pushed out of the group in 2014 after violating territorial sovereignty and annexing the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine and invading Eastern Ukraine.
Related: After 5 years, Ukraine’s barrier to peace is ‘Russia’s political will’
But US President Donald Trump doesn’t agree with keeping Russia on the sidelines of the summit. He said he would support Russia rejoining the group, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office earlier this week.
“I think it’s much more appropriate to have Russia in,” Trump said. “It should be the G8 because a lot of the things we talk about have to do with Russia. So I could certainly see it being the G8 again and if somebody would make that motion, I would certainly be disposed to think about it very favorably.”
Michael McFaul was the US ambassador to Russia during the Barack Obama administration. He spoke with The World’s Marco Werman about the future of Russia and US national interests.
Michael McFaul: Marco, I honestly don’t understand it. I don’t understand what national security interest he is seeking to advance by making that statement. Obviously, the rest of the G7 is not going to go along with it. There was a reason that Vladimir Putin was kicked out of the G7. He invaded Ukraine, he annexed Crimea and that was part of the punishment and he showed no signs of leaving Ukraine. But secondly, I don’t even understand what he thinks he’s accomplishing with Vladimir Putin. Vladimir Putin has made no signals that he wants to join the G7 or G8 again. And I just think it makes the president of the United States of America look weak.
Related: Learn how to be a spy from previously unpublished KGB training manuals
No, I’m not opposed to that. Not just some conditions — necessary conditions — and I’m not optimistic that Putin would meet them. And I want to remind your listeners, Russia joined the G7 when Russia was on the road to becoming a democracy and integrating into the West. And for several years now they’ve been moving in an opposite direction. So if Russia, for some reason, after the Putin era would move back towards embracing democratic ideas and enhancing democratic institutions and integrating into the West, that’s the right time to have that conversation. But just to bring them back in without them changing their behavior — I don’t think that serves America’s national interests.
Related: Ambassador Huntsman: US-Russia estrangement ‘has gone on too long’
Well, Marco, I see that history a little more with a lot more variation. I don’t think it’s been consistent failure. In the first years of the reset between President Obama and President [Dmitry] Medvedev — right, it wasn’t President Putin — we accomplished concrete things. We signed the new START Treaty, getting rid of 30% of the nuclear weapons in the world. We got new sanctions — multilateral sanctions — on Iran. We got new supply routes to Afghanistan. All of those things — it’s not about good relations, bad relations. I think this is a big misunderstanding about diplomacy. Obama engaged Medvedev to achieve concrete outcomes that President Obama believed were in America’s national interest. And when we look today to President Trump’s engagement with Putin, I’m hard pressed to think of one concrete outcome as a result of the “happy talk” that the two of them have now that has been good for the United States.
Related: 20 years of Putin in power: A timeline
Yes. I think a lot of it is about Putin’s mindset. Fundamentally, he believes that the United States is an enemy of Russia. He believes that the United States is out to thwart Russian power and violate Russian sovereignty. You know, I dealt with him up front and personal on this. You know, if you have that mindset about us, it’s very difficult to find win-win outcomes in dealing with Putin right now.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
The article you just read is free because dedicated readers and listeners like you chose to support our nonprofit newsroom. Our team works tirelessly to ensure you hear the latest in international, human-centered reporting every weekday. But our work would not be possible without you. We need your help.
Make a gift today to help us raise $67,000 by the end of the year and keep The World going strong. Every gift will get us one step closer to our goal!