The US administration is preparing the annual summit of the group of seven, which will be the most unpredictable in its history. The pandemic summit rescheduled for September, and so far, it is unclear whether “seven” to gather in full strength. The main intrigue made the offer to discuss “China’s future”, inviting a number of non-G7 Nations, including Russia, in 2014 are excluded from the club of the world’s democracies. Despite the conciliatory gesture of Donald trump’s participation in the summit, Moscow is unlikely given the anti-Chinese thrust of the initiative of Washington. However, respondents ‘ b ‘ experts do not exclude that in case of reelection of Donald trump Russia could become a mediator between the US and China.Planned for 10-12 June summit of the group of seven, which this year should be held in the Chairman country of the G7 — the United States, remains an equation with many unknowns. For the first time since the creation of informal elite club of the seven leading Western democracies is not defined neither the time nor the exact place nor the format nor the number of participants and guests. To be announced and the agenda of the meeting that the host country will publish in advance.Unprecedented for the G7 summits, the uncertainty and confusion caused not only by the pandemic. In conditions when preparing for the G7 summit takes place in the midst of the U.S. presidential race and the unfavorable epidemiological situation, which brought America into world leaders in the number of infected, the administration of all new trump makes loud contradictory statements about the summit, confuse politicians and experts.So, at the end of March, Deputy press Secretary of the White house Judd Deere said that it was planned for June at the President’s residence in camp David face-to-face meeting between the leaders of the G7 cancelled and instead the summit will be held in a videoconference format. But last Thursday, the press Secretary of the President of the United States kaylie Makanani reported: the White house does not refuse from full-time format for the June meeting, adding that the venue should be no camp David and Washington.”This can occur probably by the end of June. We will protect the world leaders who come here, just as we protect people in the White house,” assured Mrs. Makanani.However, a sudden idea full-time for the June summit at the White house lived only two days. On Saturday the us proposal was not accepted the veteran of the G7 summits, German Chancellor Angela Merkel. A polite refusal of Berlin, the representative of the German government stated: “the Federal Chancellor thanked the President of trump for the invitation to the summit of the “group of seven” at the end of June in Washington. As of today, taking into consideration the situation of the pandemic, it could not agree on personal presence, that is, on a trip to Washington.”In its ocher��s, the President of France Emmanuel macron said he might come to Washington in June just in case if there “be personally present all the rest.”Since emerged at a critical phase slippage, the President of the United States Donald trump eventually took a break until the fall, while trying to stir interest in the meeting and sharply raised interest rates. “I bring the summit to a later date, because I believe that the G7 did not accurately reflect what is happening in the world. This is a very outdated group of countries,” stated he a new version of the summit which is now scheduled for September.Listing the countries he’d like to see on the forum as a guest, Donald trump called Russia, South Korea, Australia, India, however, did not mention the second economy in the world and the main competitor of the US — China. As explained the Director of the White house in strategic communications, Alyssa Farah, a meeting of G10 or G11 “will bring together our traditional allies to talk about how to deal with the future of China.”The first Russian reaction to the proposal of Donald trump expressed on Sunday, the head of the Federation Council Committee on international Affairs Konstantin Kosachev, who made it clear that the us proposal needed clarification.According to Mr. Kosachev, despite the willingness to communicate in all formats, the role of a statistician is not satisfied with Moscow and the resumption of the interrupted interaction may G7 “on the precondition of equality of participants and, most importantly, equal opportunities to influence decisions”.Relations between Russia and the seven leading Western democracies had its UPS and downs, and, ironically, finally stalled in 2014, after the annexation of Crimea, when Russia was Chairman of the G8. Then in the planned Sochi summit of the group of eight did not take place: Western partners instead of Sochi, gathered in Brussels, without Russia, which after the outbreak of the Ukrainian crisis were excluded from the club of leading Western democracies.If in the second half of the 1990s — beginning of 2000-ies in the Moscow angrily rejected any attempt to cast doubt on the desirability of Russian membership in the elite club, which at the first stage, initiated by a group of influential American congressmen, headed by the chief ideologist of the expulsion of Russia Tom Lantos, then after the gap, the rhetoric has changed dramatically. In Moscow started talking about the G7 as an outdated and largely useless merge contrasting it G20 — group of twenty leading economies in both Western and non-Western world, which also includes China.”Although a formal watershed in relations between Russia and the “seven” began in 2014, these relationships were initially uneasy. Attempts to build “democratic Russia” in the Western system of coordinates and contrast its “authoritarian China” was doomed to failure”,— said “Kommersant” the General Director of the Russian international Affairs Council Andrey Kortunov participated in the preparation of the disrupted summit in Sochi.In August last year, President trump first announced the possibility of returning Russia to the G7, saying that he even discussed this idea with the President of France Emmanuel Macron, who was the host of last year’s G7 summit in Biarritz. This statement caused a new surge of interest in the almost forgotten topic of relations between Moscow and the club of leading Western powers.Meanwhile, respondents ‘ b ‘ experts are assessing the possibility of Russian participation in the G7 summit guardedly. “If the proposal will be formally submitted to the Russian leadership, Moscow will have good reason to oppose it,— said the chief researcher of the Institute of USA and Canada Vladimir Batiuk says and explains: — first, this proposal does not mean the restoration of the Russian full-fledged member of the G8, the Russian Federation can only participate in the crowd G7, somewhere between Australia and South Korea. To accept the invitation would be to demonstrate the willingness to go to any humiliation, just to have the opportunity for contacts with the leaders of the West, even the rights of “Junior partner.” However, until now, Moscow insisted that the dialogue with the West can only be based on parity and equality. Second, the adoption of this proposal would be extremely negatively perceived in Beijing. In the new American-Chinese cold war, this summit will be perceived by Chinese leaders as an anti-Chinese conspiracy with the participation of Moscow, whatever statements in support of China nor did the Russian leader publicly”. “It is clear why the summit is necessary Trump: election campaign in September will be released on finish line, and he may try to submit to the voters meeting in the extended format as another proof that the 45th President of the United States “made America great again”. But it is unclear why any part of Vladimir Putin”,— concludes Mr. Batiuk.Similar opinion is shared by Andrei Kortunov. “In fact, it is an attempt to revive the old idea of the United States and the West about how to pull Russia from China, which was the basis of the G8. However, even on a hypothetical bargaining between Moscow and Washington around China to say inappropriate, given that Donald trump was only waiting for the steps of Russia, but he has nothing to offer — neither in Ukraine nor in Syria nor in other areas. So, at the risk of alienating China, we lose much, but gain nothing,” says Mr. Kortunov.However, according to the expert, given that between Donald trump and Vladimir Putin have developed a great personal chemistry than between President trump and President XI Jinping, in the case of Perea��braña Mr. trump for a second term “in certain circumstances, Moscow could become a mediator between Washington and Beijing.”Sergey Strokan
