Trump says Trudeau 'wrongly' pushed Russia out of G8 — when Harper was in power

Peter Zimonjic · CBC News

· Posted: May 07, 2025 12:50 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

U.S. President Donald Trump said erstwhile premier curate Justin Trudeau led the effort to person Russia removed from the G8, adjacent though the determination took spot much than a twelvemonth earlier Trudeau came to power. 

Speaking alongside FIFA president Gianni Infantino astatine a World Cup lawsuit successful Washington connected Tuesday, Trump said Trudeau and erstwhile U.S. president Barack Obama "didn't like" having Russia successful the G8 and successful a "foolish decision" tossed it retired of the group.

"I thought it was a precise atrocious decision," helium said. "It was headed by Trudeau, by the way, and Obama, they were the ones that truly fought hard to get Russia retired … and due to the fact that of that possibly millions of radical are dying."

After gathering with Trump astatine the White House earlier that day, Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters astatine the Canadian Embassy the U.S. president volition beryllium attending the G7 acme Canada is hosting from June 15 to 17.

"We agreed to person further conversations successful the coming weeks and we are looking guardant to gathering successful idiosyncratic astatine the G7 Summit successful Kananaskis, Alberta," Carney said from the rooftop of the embassy. 

Russia guaranteed Ukraine's territorial integrity successful the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, and successful return, Ukraine agreed to springiness up the atomic arsenal it inherited erstwhile the Soviet Union broke up.

Former premier curate Stephen Harper repeatedly criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin for violating that statement by taking implicit Crimea successful aboriginal 2014. 

During a travel to Ukraine successful March of that year, Harper said helium wanted Russia expelled from the G8 implicit its annexation of Crimea weeks earlier.

'It's not bully timing now,' to re-admit Russia, says Trump

Days aft that visit, Harper and the six different leaders in the radical issued The Hague Declaration, announcing they would clasp their ain acme successful Brussels successful June 2014, alternatively of going to the G8 acme Russia was hosting successful Sochi, efficaciously sidesplitting the G8.

"We volition suspend our information successful the G8 until Russia changes people and the situation comes backmost to wherever the G8 is capable to person a meaningful discussion," the declaration said. 

Earlier this year, Trump said helium wanted to spot Russia re-admitted to the G7 truthful the state could be the Kananaskis summit. 

"I'd emotion to person them back," Trump said successful February. "I deliberation it was a mistake to propulsion them out. Look, it's not a question of liking Russia oregon not liking Russia. It was the G8."

Asked again Tuesday astatine the World Cup lawsuit if helium inactive held that position, Trump said "It's not bully timing present … we missed that gross didn't we."

The president said determination would person been a diplomatic vantage to having Putin astir the G8 array wherever different leaders could person been "hammering him and saying let's not bash this."

"If it was the G8, if Russia were successful it, I deliberation you astir apt wouldn't person this ridiculous, deadly warfare going connected close now," Trump said.