MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th August, 2019) European Council President Donald Tusk's idea to invite Ukraine to the next G7 summit is nothing but an attempt to stoke Russophobia at the future meeting, proving that the bloc is not ready to abandon its anti-Moscow stance, Frants Klintsevich, a member of the Russian upper house's defense and security committee, said on Sunday.
At the press conference ahead of the G7 summit in France on Saturday, Tusk said that he strongly opposed the idea of bringing Russia back to the club, pledging to offer the G7 nations to invite Ukraine as a guest to the next summit in the United States instead.
"He should have also invited there Poland together with the Baltic states. And then, the intensity of Russophobia at the summit would be definitely at the proper level," Klintsevich wrote on Facebook.
The lawmaker expressed regret that "the European Union continues being engaged not in real politics, but in politicking."
"In general, this line, except for certain nuances, remains anti-Russian," he concluded.
The debate around the possibility of bringing Russia back to the club of the world's leading nations was resparked earlier in the week after US leader Donald Trump agreed to French President Emmanuel Macron's proposal to invite Russia to the 2020 G7 summit in the United States. Trump also said that Russia should return to what used to be G8.
The G8 format had been in place from 1998-2014 but was reduced to the G7 due to the West's disagreements with Russia regarding the events in Crimea and Ukraine. The G7 nations have accused Moscow of interfering in Ukraine's domestic affairs and slapped sanctions on Russia. Recently, more and more members of the Western political establishment have begun questioning the wisdom of antagonizing Russia and refusing mutually beneficial cooperation.
