No G7 Invite for Russia Yet - Merkel

German Chancellor Angela Merkel ruled out any return to the G8 format unless Russia fully “complied with the norms of international law,” media reports said Thursday.

“Russia will not be able to attend the G7 summit in Elmau because the G7 and former G8 group has always viewed itself as a community of values”, Merkel told the German parliament ahead of the upcoming Eastern Partnership summit in Riga, Latvia.

The G8 reverted to its original G7 format in 2014 when, in the wake of Crimea’s reunification with Russia, the leaders of the Group of Seven industrialized nations decided to stay away from their planned summit in Sochi and, instead, met in Brussels without Russia.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov then said that no one had actually excluded Russia from the G8.

“The G8 is an informal club, no one gives out membership cards and no one can expel members”, he added.

The G7 comprises leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain and the United States.

Russia was suspended from being a part of the G8 group last year amid tensions over Crimea.

In March 2014, Russia and Crimea reunified following a referendum, where 96 percent of the voters backed reunification.