U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Canada today for the G7 Summit. As seen below, while standing next to Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney, Trump defended Russian President Vladimir Putin, who according to Trump is still “very insulted” for being kicked out of the G8 in 2014.
Trump said today: “Putin speaks to me, he doesn’t speak to anyone else, he doesn’t want to talk because he was very insulted when he got thrown out of the G8. As I would be, as you would be, as anyone would be. He was very insulted. I mean, he was thrown out by Trudeau, who convinced one or two people, along with Obama, he was thrown out.”
Note: In 2014, President Barack Obama and other world leaders including then-Canadian PM Stephen Harper suspended Russia’s membership in the G8 after Russia invaded and annexed the Ukrainian territory of Crimea in March 2014. (Trudeau became the Prime Minister of Canada in November 2015.)
Trump is in Canada today for the G7 Summit complaining about Justin Trudeau leading an effort to kick Russia out of the G8. He says Putin is very upset about it and he doesn’t blame him. pic.twitter.com/4vfWYqIpD6
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) June 16, 2025
Note: Putin’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the time that Russia was “not attached to this format and we don’t see a great misfortune if it will not gather. Maybe, for a year or two, it will be an experiment for us to see how we live without it.”
In 2014, the G8 wrote in a statement: “International law prohibits the acquisition of part or all of another state’s territory through coercion or force. To do so violates the principles upon which the international system is built. We condemn the illegal referendum held in Crimea in violation of Ukraine’s constitution. We also strongly condemn Russia’s illegal attempt to annex Crimea in contravention of international law and specific international obligations.”
The G7 includes the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and Italy.